Services

NEWS FLASH

UPCOMING WEBINAR - LATIN AMERICA IN 2025: HOW WORRIED SHOULD WE BE?...

Learn More

COUNTRY INSIGHTS

A follow-up to yesterday's note: Bulgaria's extra tax on Russian gas shipment is now effective
HUNGARY · In Brief · 15 Oct 2023

Just a brief update on the subject. In yesterday's note, we wrote of Bulgaria's new €10.2/MWh extraordinary tax on the transit of Russian gas shipments to Serbia and Hungary as a draft approved by the Bulgarian parliament in first reading only. Meanwhile, parliament has given its final approval t...

Bad news on gas transit: the pirates of the Turk Stream pipeline
HUNGARY · In Brief · 14 Oct 2023

Sorting out the gas supply problem for the landlocked members of the EU (Austria, Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia) seemed to be relatively easy in theory last year: the solution would be cutting consumption, extending pipelines, importing more LNG to Europe and setting up new re-gasification units ...

Good news on fiscal policy: a small monthly budget surplus in September
HUNGARY · In Brief · 14 Oct 2023

Just as a reminder, the general government's accrual-method deficit, the main fiscal indicator, was 6.8% of GDP in H1, and that figure was derived from an 8.1% of GDP cash deficit of the central government in the same period. Since then, the monthly records of the latter indicator have shown furt...

Maharlika Investment Fund, ahead of its time?
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 13 Oct 2023

It is safe to say everybody in the Philippines recognizes that the economy needs foreign investments to help sustain the momentum of growth and upgrade its likelihood to escape the so-called "lower middle-income trap". But not too many would share the view that the Philippines’ Maharlika Investme...

Stubborn inflation
VENEZUELA · Report · 13 Oct 2023

Inflation gathered strength in September, accelerating to 8.7 percent from its August 7.4 percent. Year-on-year inflation came to 318 percent. We see it declining in quarter four to close the year at 274 percent. Shaping the September inflation path were lagged effects from strong August boliv...

GULF WEEKLY: OPEC hikes oil forecasts, IMF forecasts surpluses for most, Qatar-France LNG deal, Gulf diplomacy continues on Gaza war
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 13 Oct 2023 · 1 response

A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines: * Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were heavily involved in diplomacy related to the Hamas-Israel war. * OPEC hiked its baseline 2045 oil demand forecast to 116m b/d, above its previous bull scenario. * The IMF forecasts fis...

The schedule for Tax Reform in the Senate has been altered, the government wants to vote on a bill dealing with the taxation of exclusive and offshore funds, and the “time frame” bill has been sent to the President for final approval
BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 13 Oct 2023

Once again, the schedule for the Tax Reform in the Senate has been altered. The initial calendar had anticipated the presentation of the opinion of the rapporteur, Senator Eduardo Braga (MDB-AM), to the Constitution and Justice Committee on September 27. This was postponed twice and is now schedu...

TOPIC OF THE WEEK: Georgia: Collateral benefit - A slide presentation
CAUCASUS / CENTRAL ASIA · Report · 13 Oct 2023

Georgia will benefit in the South Caucasus as an active bystander in the Armenia-Azerbaijan military conflict. Baku’s victory in the 3rd Karabakh war has elevated the status of the Azerbaijan-Turkey tandem, with which Tbilisi has a strategic relationship. In this week's report, which is a slide p...

Russia's relationship with Israel and Palestine in focus
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · Report · 12 Oct 2023

Hamas’s massive attacks on Israel and Israel’s incursions into Gaza throw Russia’s complex and contradictory relationship with the protagonists into sharp relief. The USSR voted for the creation of Israel in 1948. But by the mid-1950s the USSR was a backer of Arab nationalism, which it perceived...

China’s “shock therapy”
CHINA ADVISORY · Report · 12 Oct 2023

China’s two largest property developers this week have said they are on the verge of default. China Evergrande faced a government cancellation of its restructuring plan for $19 billion of international bonds that investors say could lead to a collapse of the company. Meanwhile, Country Garden has...

Russia: a brief market watch
RUSSIA ECONOMICS · In Brief · 12 Oct 2023

Despite all the efforts of monetary authorities, the exchange rate remains volatile. Until recently, the ruble was trading around $/R100 with significant intraday fluctuations. The ruble remained at this level despite the recent widening of the current account surplus. According to CBR statistics...

Putin in Kyrgyzstan
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 12 Oct 2023

On October 12 Putin arrived in Bishkek for the two-day visit. It is because of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Summit. The CIS comprises 9 former Soviet republics. This is Putin's first trip to another country since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for ...

Zelensky in Romania
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 12 Oct 2023

On October 10 Zelensky visited Romania for the first time since the war began. He thanked Romania for its military and humanitarian support. He met the President of Romania. The two held a joint press conference. Controversially, he was not allowed to address parliament; some Romanian politicians...

The Tax Reform rapporteur has once again postponed the submission of his report, the CAE held a series of public hearings on Tax Reform, and the TSE suspended the adjudication of Bolsonaro’s cases until October 17
BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 11 Oct 2023

The Senate Tax Reform rapporteur, Eduardo Braga (MDB-AM), has postponed the submission of his report once again. The report was scheduled to be submitted on October 20, but should now be delivered on October 24. Despite the optimism surrounding Tax Reform, a delay in the schedule is a possibility...

The dog that didn't bark: a new mining contract without changes in the financial conditions
PANAMA · In Brief · 11 Oct 2023 · 1 response

The Cabinet approved a revision of the original contract between the Nation and Minera Panama yesterday, following a five-to-four vote against the initial version in the Commerce Committee of the National Assembly last month. Among the modifications included in the recent draft, the main topics t...

Copyright 2024 GlobalSource Partners. All rights reserved.