Archive for the ‘Countries’ Category

Uzbekistan Becomes Most Populous Nation Among Former Soviet Republics

Via Eca50.com, a report on Uzbekistan’s population growth: Uzbekistan’s population reached 36.8 million people as of January 1st, 2024, according to the country’s statistics agency. Meanwhile, Ukraine has been witnessing a long-term population decline, with a UN estimate of 36.7 million people for 2023.  Since 1990, Uzbekistan has seen the biggest population growth among 50 […]

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How Drug Traffickers Made the Galápagos Islands Their Gas Station

Courtesy of The Washington Post, a riveting story on the interactions between economics, illegal activity, the environment, and fossil fuel consumption in Ecuador and a reminder that conservation is inextricable from peace and security, prosperity, and human well being: Charles Darwin described it as the most desolate of the Galápagos Islands, an almost extraterrestrial outpost […]

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How Bitcoin Is Saving Wasted Energy and Expanding Financial Freedom in Africa

Via Bitcoin Magazine, a look at how Bitcoin is monetizing stranded energy, financing electrical infrastructure, and empowering millions in Africa: Hundreds of millions of Africans face two problems holding them back from progress: 600 million lack electricity, while virtually all 1.4 billion people on the continent lack high-quality currency. Compare this to the US, Northern […]

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How Mexico Plans to Reclaim Its Economy

Via Geopolitical Futures, a report on Mexico and plans to reclaim its economy from organized crime: In Mexico, security and economic recovery are intertwined. Politicians and citizens alike understand that the country’s powerful criminal groups threaten both, and though they broadly agree that something should be done, no one agrees on the best path forward. […]

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In Cape Verde, Blinken Signals U.S. Attention To Africa

Courtesy of the New York Times, an article on the U.S. Secretary of State’s recent tour of four African countries, hoping to promote positive news on the continent: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken touched down on a remote African island chain before heading on to the Ivory Coast on Monday, kicking off a four-nation […]

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Coral Bridge: New Submarine Cable To Connect Egypt and Jordan

Via Arab News, a report on a new Egypt-Jordan submarine cable to power AI and data centers demands Artificial intelligence applications and data center demands are poised for a boost, thanks to a new submarine cable connecting Egypt and Jordan.  In the first collaboration of this kind in 25 years, the Coral Bridge submarine cable […]

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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.