19 January 2012
While there remains much optimism in the potential of emerging markets, the truth is their economies are still largely dependent on the performance and health of developed markets. By most accounts, emerging markets are export-driven, and highly sensitive to currency movements and commodity prices. Given the weak slim chance of global recovery this year, what is the fate of emerging markets?
9 January 2012
In 2011, the total investments in renewable energy in Africa rose from $750 million in 2004 to $3.6 billion. By 2020, this sum is expected to grow to $57 billion – a staggering 1,583 percent increase in nine short years. Will Africa be able to do what it takes to ensure its energy future?
First, the bad news. Although Africa has vast fossil and renewable energy sources, only twenty percent of its population has direct access to electricity and in some rural areas, four out of five people are completely without power.
4 January 2012
Both China and India depend heavily on the broader economic global climate. The fear is that if China and India fall, Asia would be at risk, and it would be hard to avoid a global recession. Yet fears of hard landings for both economies are overblown, especially regarding China.
21 December 2011
The decade for emerging markets has come. It is not an understatement that there has been a major shift in global powers following the financial storm that started almost 5 years ago. Despite the storm, emerging markets have already captured 40 percent of world GDP. Looking ahead, a lesser-known revolution – theorised: disruptive innovation – will see to the exponential growth of emerging markets in the next decade.
12 December 2011
According to a recent EIA report, Mexico is now sitting on very large natural gas fields that could allow it to end gas imports and could give it energy independence. But in order to unleash the natural gas, Mexico will have to utilize the process of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”, which has numerous environmental risks. What will the Mexican government do?
22 November 2011
On November 10 2011, Cuba’s Communist Party implemented free market-like reforms to the nation’s property market, by finally allowing Cubans to buy and sell property on their own. These reforms have been met by both optimism and scepticism from within the Cuban and international community, as doubts remain over their long-term future. How will these reforms affect Cuba, and how should the rest of the world react?