China Spent Big on an African Media Empire, But No One’s Watching
March 2nd, 2026
Via Bloomberg, a look at China’s efforts to build a media footprint in Africa: China has spent nearly two decades building a media empire in Africa, but few people watch its broadcasters, newswires, and print publications. Africans prefer to watch the BBC, Al Jazeera, and CNN, and China’s media brands have barely figured in public […]
Read more »North Korea Eyes Slice of Russian Market Long Dominated by China
March 2nd, 2026
Via Daily NK, a report on China’s interest in Russian markets: North Korea’s ruling party instructed the cabinet’s Ministry of External Economic Relations in early February to pursue a new strategy aimed at securing a foothold in industrial sectors of the Russian market currently dominated by Chinese companies, a source in Pyongyang told Daily NK recently. The instructions came from the Economic Department of the Workers’ Party […]
Read more »Kazakhstan at a Critical Minerals Crossroads: Tungsten and Middle Power Resource Sovereignty
February 28th, 2026
Via The Diplomat, a report on how Kazakhstan finds itself at the intersection of two structural trends: the militarization of the global economy and the technological rivalry between the United States and China: Amid the global race for critical minerals and rising defense spending, Kazakhstan is re-emerging as a significant player in the tungsten sector. […]
Read more »The Billionaire Brothers Betting on Syria’s Reconstruction
February 20th, 2026
Via Bloomberg, a look at Qatar’s Al-Khayyat brothers who are are now poised to play a leading role in rebuilding their homeland: In 2017, during the Saudi-led embargo of Qatar, local dairy company Baladna famously airlifted in thousands of cows to help guarantee milk supplies and food security in Doha. Behind the unorthodox move was the Al-Khayyat family, naturalized […]
Read more »‘Big Beautiful Belt’ of US-Aligned States Takes Form Across Eurasia
February 18th, 2026
Via Nikkei Asia, a look at the growing number of middle powers seeking closer ties to Trump: A belt of U.S.-aligned states is taking shape across Eurasia, and President Donald Trump will bring many of its members to Washington on Thursday for the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace. A bulk of the board’s […]
Read more »Electric Vehicle Sales Boom as Ethiopia Bans Fossil-Fuel Car Imports
February 18th, 2026
Via Bloomberg, a look at how Ethiopia is making use of cheap hydropower and Chinese electric vehicles to ditch the internal combustion engine: Bethelhem Eshetie gave up driving her taxi two years ago. The rising cost of gas and the spare parts needed to keep her old car on the road meant that she couldn’t […]
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.