Saudi Arabia and Iran: The New Battle for the Middle East
October 25th, 2024
Courtesy of Foreign Affairs, a detailed look at the clash of visions between Saudi Arabia and Iran: There are many Middle Eastern conflicts that could reshape the global political order. But the one most likely to do so is the battle between the region’s two dominant powers: the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic […]
Read more »Bank Run: Hezbollah’s Sprawling Financial Empire Looks Vulnerable
October 22nd, 2024
Via The Economist, an article on Hezbollah’s increasingly vulnerable financial empire: Residents of Beirut are, by now, used to warnings from the Israel Defence Forces ahead of bombing runs. Typically, these instruct locals to stay away from a tower block suspected of harbouring fighters, or perhaps a school said to double as a weapons cache. The […]
Read more »Adaptation In Iran’s Sanctioned Economy
October 10th, 2024
Via Phenomenal World, an article on how Iran has attempted to adapt to a sanctioned economy: The oil boom of the late 2000s created significant headwinds for Iranian manufacturers. As the value of oil exports surged, the Iranian rial appreciated, real wages rose, and foreign goods flooded the Iranian market. Middle-class families relished in their […]
Read more »A New “Quartet of Chaos”
September 23rd, 2024
Via The Economist, an article on the growing relationships between the rulers of China, Iran, North Korea and Russia: Antony Blinken, America’s secretary of state, was unusually blunt on a recent visit to Europe: “One of the reasons that [Vladimir] Putin is able to continue this aggression is because of the provision of support from […]
Read more »Growing but Limited: Iranian Economic Relations with China
August 28th, 2024
Via Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, analysis of the growing dependence of the Iranian economy on China: The tightening of relations between China and Iran is considered one of the main factors preventing the collapse of Iran’s economy, which has been subject to sanctions since the United States withdrew from the nuclear agreement in […]
Read more »Iran Proposes Joint Mineral Economic Zone with Afghanistan
August 16th, 2024
Via Tolo News, a report on a proposed joint mineral economic zone between Afghanistan and Iran: The Ministry of Industry and Commerce has announced that a delegation from Iran, during a meeting with the acting minister, proposed an investment in establishing a special joint mineral economic zone between the two countries. According to Akhundzada Abdul […]
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.