RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 08 Jan 2020

On January 8 the Turkstream pipeline was launched. The pipeline is 930 km across the Black Sea. The aim is to avoid Russian gas going via Ukraine. Gazprom is the company sending the gas. The capacity will be 15.75 bcm. Much of the gas will transit on the to the EU.This is the third pipeline extan...

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 08 Jan 2020

On January 8 a Ukrainian International Airlines plane crashed in Iran. All 176 people aboard were killed. The cause of the disaster has not yet been determined. Already some people on the internet are making accusations of foul play. The crash comes at a moment of high tension between Iran and th...

INDIA - Report 08 Jan 2020

Listed firms in India experienced buoyant growth from 1999 until about 2006, but their growth in the following period has been disappointing. In this note, we find that until 2012, listed and unlisted firms fared similarly. But since 2012, a significant gap has opened up between the two groups. U...

GULF COUNTRIES - In Brief 08 Jan 2020

Soon after midnight, Baghdad time, January 8, Iran fired over a dozen ballistic missiles at two of the main bases hosting US forces in Iraq. The missiles struck the main al-Asad base in the western Anbar region and another base near Erbil in the Kurdistan region. Initial reports, including from T...

VENEZUELA - In Brief 07 Jan 2020 1 response

On 5 January 2020 the regime carried out a parliamentary coup aimed at replacing Juan Guaidó as president of the National Assembly (AN). It created a fictitious, fraudulent and obedient AN Board while, at the same time, a legitimate Board headed by Juan Guaidó emerged from the vote of 100 deputie...

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 07 Jan 2020

Poland is considering making it easier for Ukrainian to gain permanent residency. There are over a million Ukrainians legally resident in Poland. The languages of the two neighbors are very similar. The Polish proposal got mixed reactions in Ukraine. Many Ukrainians want to move somewhere where t...

CHINA FINANCIAL - Report 07 Jan 2020

Special points to highlight in this issue: • Capital flight continues to be a major issue for Beijing, with the “Errors and omissions” account at an all-time high. • The central bank wants to maintain relatively easy monetary conditions as it tries to work its way through China’s debt burden, b...

ISRAEL - In Brief 06 Jan 2020

The fiscal deficit in 2019 exceeded the planned deficit by 12bn ILS, due to a 9.2bn undershooting of revenues and a 2.8bn overshooting in spending. Expenditures of government ministries increased by 6.3% y/y, above the original planned budget of 5.1% growth in spending.Tax revenues were up 3.5% i...

ISRAEL - Report 06 Jan 2020

GDP growth reached 3.3% in 2019 on strong domestic consumption and service exports. Growth in 2020 is expected to slow to 2.8% on weaker consumption due to a tighter fiscal position, offset by natural gas exports. Average wages are expanding by 2.5%-2.8% annual, supportive of PC demand and some m...

ISRAEL - In Brief 05 Jan 2020

GDP growth in 2019 reached 3.3% (1.3% per capita)Drivers: Private consumption increased by 3.9%, public consumption 4.1% and service exports 9.0%.Weak growth: industrial exports up only 1.5%, and investments in fixed assets up only 0.3%.The public debt/GDP ratio is expected to decline in 2019 (be...

TURKEY - Report 05 Jan 2020 1 response

After a brief update of the political scene, the New Year’s politics coverage starts with the Idlib crisis, which has pushed a quarter million refugees to Turkey’s borders. President Erdogan will try to hash out another ceasefire with Putin on the 8th of January meeting, but it might take some sa...

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 04 Jan 2020

On January 4 Belarus and Russia agreed to reopen Belarus' oil refineries. Belarus' state oil company Belneftkhim consented to renounce the supplier's premium that it has received on oil from Russia. Over 80% of Belarus' energy comes from Russia. Being cut off from this in midwinter would be very ...

HUNGARY - In Brief 04 Jan 2020

The European edition of Politico (politico.hu) wrote yesterday that according to an unnamed high-ranking representative of Fidesz, PM Orbán is seriously considering to pull Fidesz out of the European People's Party. A few days ago, a leading background figure in the Fidesz political family said o...

GULF COUNTRIES - Report 03 Jan 2020

The weekly is a skimmable summary of key developments by country, overlaid with our analysis and links to further information. Headlines include: * Saudi GDP contracted by -0.5% y/y in Q3, a base effect due to high oil output a year before, but non-oil growth picked up to 4.3% (a five-year hig...

GULF COUNTRIES - Report 03 Jan 2020

Oil prices spiked by $2 after a US drone strike in Iraq assassinated one of Iran’s most powerful generals. The situation is evolving rapidly and puts at risk the Saudi-driven cycle of de-escalation that has seen an apparent pause in attacks on oil interests in the Gulf since September. There may ...