Iran’s Energy Crisis Hits ‘Dire’ Point as Industries Are Forced to Shut Down
December 22nd, 2024
Courtesy of the New York Times, an article on Iran – which although it has one of the biggest supplies of natural gas and crude oil in the world – finds itself in a full blown energy emergency, coming just as it also suffers major geopolitical setbacks: Government offices in Iran are closed or operating […]
Read more »Sanction Busting In Strait of Hormuz
November 28th, 2024
Via Semafor, a look at how sanction busting occurs in the Strait of Hormuz: They move best at night, in a swarm. Twenty, maybe 25 small boats side-by-side. Up to 100 boats at a time: “Waterworld” without Kevin Costner. Simple speedboats, around six meters long, each with a powerful engine, traversing the fabled Strait of […]
Read more »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 »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.