Archive for May, 2024

India’s Greatest Export: Curry

Via Nikkei Asia, a look at the global curry trail across continents where variations of the traditional Tamil dish have conquered the culinary world: Curries vary by type and flavor not only from country to country, but from home to home. (All photos by Meenakshi J) “This Jaffna curry powder is freshly prepared,” said the […]

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The Super Peso

Courtesy of Latinometrics, a look at how the Mexican peso is outshining the rest of the world: First, there’s the good: Mexican businesses and consumers can buy foreign goods, invest, and travel more inexpensively, leading to stronger commercial relationships and quality of life. Also, as foreign investors expect the peso to continue rising (thanks largely […]

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Gazprom’s Declining Fortunes Spell Trouble for Moscow

Via Foreign Policy, an article on why Gazprom’s record loss should worry the Kremlin on several fronts: At the end of 2022, Dmitry Medvedev—Russia’s former prime minister and the current deputy chairman of its Security Council—offered his predictions for the coming year. He warned that Europeans would suffer badly from Russia’s decision to curb natural […]

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Privatization in Uzbekistan: Potential Far From Fulfilled

Via The Diplomat, a report that – while some progress has been made – foreign investors are starting to wonder if Uzbekistan’s privatization agenda will ever live up to its much-lauded potential: In early May, Uzbekistan’s capital played host to the Tashkent International Investment Forum. The third installment of the annual event, which cost an […]

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Brazilian Niobium Carves Out An Energy Niche

Courtesy of The Financial Times, an article on Brazilian niobium: Among Brazil’s abundant mineral riches — from iron ore and gold to precious stones and copper — is one niche metal that almost no other country can claim to produce at scale: niobium. The dominant producer, Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração (CBMM), is exploring new […]

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Why the World Has Gone Cuckoo for Copper

Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal, an article on how the U.S. and China are competing to acquire the metal essential for EVs and data centers. It is also at the center of a $43 billion takeover battle: After one of the world’s top copper producers recently hit a financial crunch, the Biden administration started huddling […]

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ABOUT
WILDCATS AND BLACK SHEEP
Wildcats & Black Sheep is a personal interest blog dedicated to the identification and evaluation of maverick investment opportunities arising in frontier - and, what some may consider to be, “rogue” or “black sheep” - markets around the world.

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.