Why Cost of Chocolate Will Keep Rising
March 23rd, 2024
Courtesy of The Financial Times, a look at how speculation, climate change and under-investment are combining to push up the price of the confection: With Easter less than a month away, sweet-toothed consumers in Europe and North America are beginning to turn their thoughts towards chocolate. In the UK alone, tens of millions of milk […]
Read more »Al Qaeda Inc. Is Back—and Thriving—in Afghanistan
March 23rd, 2024
Courtesy of Foreign Policy, an article on how architects of 9/11 are profiting from gold and gem mines in the Taliban-led country: Al Qaeda is back to its old tricks in Afghanistan. Much as it did before masterminding the 9/11 attacks, the terrorist group is running militant training camps; sharing the profits of the Taliban’s […]
Read more »Asia’s Population Patterns by Density
March 23rd, 2024
Via Visual Capitalist, an interesting graphical look at Asia’s population patterns by density: Nearly 60% of the world’s 8 billion population lives in Asia: a vast continent sprawling over 44 million km², home to sprawling megacities, high-altitude deserts, the world’s biggest plateau, and impenetrable rainforests. We visualize Asia’s population patterns using data from WorldPop—a research group based out of […]
Read more »What’s Behind Saudi Arabia’s Decision To Host First-Ever ‘Dragon Ball’ Theme Park
March 23rd, 2024
Via Al Monitor, a look at Saudi Arabia’s decision to host a theme park based on the popular Japanese anime show, which follows the kingdom’s developments in video games and mixed martial arts: Saudi Arabia will soon host the first-ever theme park based on “Dragon Ball” universe of comics and games, the franchise said on Friday. […]
Read more »Offshore Treasure: ExxonMobil, Venezuela, and the Battle for Guyana’s Oil
March 23rd, 2024
Via Phenomenal World, a report on ExxonMobil, Venezuela, and the battle for Guyana’s oil: Since the discovery of some of the world’s largest oil reserves in 2015, Guyana has entered a period of economic and geostrategic reconfiguration. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), Guyana holds the sixth-largest oil reserves in the Americas and the […]
Read more »Nigeria’s High-Cost Oil Industry Is In Decline
March 23rd, 2024
Via The Economist, a report on Nigeria’s oil industry: A chief economist at Shell once described Nigeria as the “jewel in the crown” of the oil major’s empire. Yet in recent years the jewel has lost its lustre. Early this year Shell, which has been pumping oil in Nigeria for nearly seven decades, agreed to […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.