Covid-19, Political Unrest, and Economic Challenges: Five Countries To Watch Closely in the Second Half of 2021
On a global scale, people are angry at the current health and economic environment with protests becoming increasingly prevalent. The question for political analysts and investors is whether the anger and unrest boils to an unsustainable level for some countries….
Five Things To Watch As The U.S. Economy Recovers
U.S. GDP has reached its pre-covid 19 level…should we be celebrating? The answer is yes. But the economy continues to provide mix signals to the market. And, as it continues to recover, there are five things to watch…
Ethiopia: How has Abiy Ahmed fared as a Prime Minister?
Congrats to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on his re-election (we all know who will win)…But how has Abiy Ahmed fared as Prime Minister? And what criteria do we use to grade him?
The English Summer…We Await
Prime Minister Boris Johnson delayed plans to lift the remaining covid-19 restrictions by a month last week with the infectious delta variant rapidly spreading throughout the country. Now, the full reopening of pubs and restaurants among other places will have to wait AGAIN. The British (and the rest of the world) are stuck speculating on whether and when London and the country will return to some sense of normalcy. Today, absent packed streets and offices both with locals and non-locals, the UK’s exit from the EU somehow feels like a permanent exit from the world’s ecosystem (at least for now)…
The Return of Lula, Brazil’s Economic Volatility, and Opportunistic Investment
Brazil is full of opportunities…if you ignore the populist rhetoric that will accompany the October 2022 elections.
The Summer Of The Vaccine
If governments cannot avoid stoking further worry and sidestep validating conspiracy theories while also showing empathy and concern for its citizens, then vaccine rollout, which clearly is an issue of both an individual’s perspective on the vaccine’s necessity and its safety, will remain in doubt and the economic fall-out will accordingly be palpable in some parts of Europe…
Higher Oil Prices Come At The Right Time for the Middle East…
Oil recently touched above $70 and continues to hover above $60 today. The uptick is a welcome breath of fresh air into the Middle East (financial) ecosystem. The new cash inflow is and will continue to allow the regional states to underwrite new financing in their banking sectors and evade the 2009-esque fallout as banks today effectively bridge finance regional corporates to 2022 (…or potentially 2023)…
Coronavirus is Opportunity (for Investors) in Latin America
Latin America remains significantly impacted by the pandemic with three of its largest economies—Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina—among the world’s biggest covid-19 hotspots. And, as these country’s leaders struggle to stave off economic and health catastrophe one after another, (distressed) investors will find additional opportunity to allocate capital…
Covid-19 Is A Distraction From Deeper Economic Problems
Covid-19 is the introduction and closing to many personal and business conversations these days. It is also the starting point for most economic discussions across the globe. Discussions on the African continent are no different. But, in the context of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the Covid-19 pandemic may be a distraction from the realities of deeper economic problems…
