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COUNTRY INSIGHTS

On myths and illusions
TURKEY · Report · 07 Mar 2021 · 1 response

The Erdogan government has failed to suppress the raging COVID-19 epidemic or provide adequate financial aid to those who suffer from its consequences. A hasty decision to ease curfews and other social restrictions is backfiring badly, jeopardizing the all-critical summer tourism season. All p...

Cost of flights in Russia rises dramatically
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 07 Mar 2021

On March 3 Kommersant reported the hike in air fares. Russia is open to tourists from certain countries. The average price for a flight from Russia to a domestic destination was USD 212 in March 2021. That is 40% higher than what it was just before coronavirus.Tickets to Dubai are 100% higher YoY...

Kolomoisky designated corrupt by the US
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 06 Mar 2021

On March 5 the United States stated that Ihor Kolomoisky is guilty of significant corruption. He and his close relatives have therefore been banned from entering the United States. It is speculated that the banned list might be extended to cover his associates.The statement against Kolomoisky rel...

​Covid watch
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 06 Mar 2021

Excitement this week over the rollout of donated Chinese vaccines and arrival of more from Covax has, by the weekend, been doused by reports of rising covid19 infections, with the more transmissible variants of the coronavirus having been detected locally. Yesterday, the health department reporte...

US imposes sanctions on oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyy, big political reshuffle is on agenda
UKRAINE · In Brief · 05 Mar 2021

Today, on March 5th the Secretary of state Antony J. Blinken announced “the public designation of oligarch and former Ukrainian public official Ihor Kolomoyskyy due to his involvement in significant corruption”. Sanctions were also imposed on members of Ihor Kolomoyskyy’s immediate family. Mr. Bl...

MTS starts pilot 5G network in Moscow
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 05 Mar 2021

On March 5 Russia's main cellphone carrier began the scheme. It has started 14 hotspots in the city center around tourist attractions and the financial district.Those taking part in the pilot scheme are smartphone owners. They will get ultra HD videos and cloud gaming. Technicians are striving to...

Flying start for Russian retail giant's IPO
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 05 Mar 2021

On March 5 it was announced that FixPrice's IPO in London has gained USD 2 billion in investment. This exceeded expectations. The IPO is now being increased. This is record breaking for a Russian retail company. It is the greatest Russian listing in the UK since 2007.FixPrice is selling shares at...

GULF WEEKLY: OPEC+ postpones taper, Khashoggi report reverberates, Kuwait forms cabinet
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 05 Mar 2021

A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines include: * OPEC+ surprised markets by keeping cuts unchanged for April, including Saudi’s extra 1m b/d. * Iran rejected an EU proposal for talks but there were hints of a softening later in the week after the US withdrew a cr...

​Inflation rises to 4.7%
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 05 Mar 2021

The headline inflation rate rose again from 4.2% in January to 4.7% in February. However, compared with previous months, inflation momentum weakened significantly with the month-on-month inflation rate slowing to 0.2% from an average of over 1% in the last three months. This is due mainly to stea...

RUB falls as Western sanctions are expected
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 05 Mar 2021

On March 5 the Russian currency took a hit due to rumors that the UK and US intended to introduce swinging sanctions. The RUB fell 1% and was worth 74.5 to the USD. Bloomberg reported that asset freezes and travel bans could be introduced on billionaires suspected of being close to Putin. Limitat...

CHILE: ​Another go at pensions?
CHILE · In Brief · 04 Mar 2021 · 1 response

Exactly a year after the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in Chile, some eight months after Congress approved the first 10% withdrawal from private pensions (AFP), and four months after it approved the second withdrawal, President Sebastián Piñera is trying to get ahead of the game by proposi...

Government and opposition continue to circle each other
VENEZUELA · Report · 04 Mar 2021

Three months into 2021, the government and opposition are continuing to circle each other, each attempting to strengthen its position, neither willing to make the first move toward negotiations, and both afraid of appearing weak and incurring the wrath of their radical factions. The Maduro go...

Why hasn’t the weakening of the Dollar strengthened the Real?
BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 04 Mar 2021

Between March and May 2020, the Federal Reserve reacted to the economic effects of the pandemic by reducing the fed funds rate to 0.25% a year (technically equal to zero) and purchasing more than US$ 2 trillion worth of Treasuries, the great majority maturing in up to 5 years. It was a monetary s...

Prime rate revised upwards by 0.5 ppt, readiness for further increase declared
UKRAINE · In Brief · 04 Mar 2021

The NBU Board increased the prime rate by 0.5ppt up to 6.5%, according to the NBU press-release. The decision was a bit belated but still somewhat surprising after a dovish communication in January. Experts (consensus forecast, including ourselves) anticipated the prime rate to remain unchanged f...

Pandemic/political update: looking for a change, but not now
RUSSIA ECONOMICS · Report · 04 Mar 2021

Even though vaccination in Russia is going slowly, reported daily infection cases have fallen to around 11K, almost half the figure reported a month ago. Around 5.4 mln people were vaccinated at least with one shot in early March, which is very little relative to the country’s population. Nonethe...

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