Macroeconomy & Globalization

NEWSMAKERS: SOUTH AFRICA
Zuma fights back despite public dissatisfaction with his presidency.
 

NEWSMAKERS: PANAMA
Conservative Varela surprises with progressive social agenda.
 

MILESTONES: NIGERIA
The transport infrastructure in Africa's largest economy is still treading water.

FRONTIER MARKETS REPORT: KUWAIT
Kuwaiti legislature has cut red tape and is offering more inducements for FDI. But is the rest of the regime on board?

Election Coverage: “Good days are here,” tweeted prime minister-designate Narendra Modi after he led the right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party to a landslide victory last Friday in India’s bitterly fought parliamentary elections.

REGIONAL REPORT
​Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic lions are pulling the continent into an unprecedented era of wealth creation and prosperity. With year-on-year growth of between 7% and 9%, Ghana, Angola, Mozambique, Zambia and Ethiopia have played a pivotal role in helping Africa’s economy triple in size since 2000.

When, on March 18, longtime Canadian Finance minister Jim Flaherty unexpectedly announced his resignation, few were perhaps more surprised than his soon-to-be successor, Joe Oliver, the 73-year-old minister of Natural Resources.

Mergers and acquisitions involving Russian companies, including Morgan Stanley’s planned sale of its global oil-trading unit to Rosneft, are threatened by Western sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.

Only two weeks ahead of the April 9 parliamentary elections and under pressure from a billion-dollar lawsuit, the Indonesian government announced it would terminate some 67 bilateral investment treaties—which regulate investment in the country by foreigners—as they come up for renewal.

Although hit hard by the global financial crisis, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia recovered quickly. The three countries are building ever-closer EU ties to separate themselves economically from Eastern neighbors.

An escalation of sanctions on Russia stemming from its actions in Ukraine could pressure Russia’s overall economic growth. Some companies, particularly those perceived to have close ties to president Vladimir Putin and his inner circle, may have difficulties tapping the international capital markets for funding.

Brazilian Finance minister Guido Mantega may be dealing with both internal and external headwinds, but he—and Brazil—are still standing.

Recent economic reforms in Mexico and upgrades by rating agencies have strengthened Mexico’s position in global markets. The country’s economic performance is improving as well.

Financial markets may initially have reacted well to the reelection of the AKP and prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, but his success belies deep-seated political and economic problems.

NEWSMAKERS By Valentina Pasquali Headed by 39-year-old prime minister Matteo Renzi, Italy’s new government is the youngest in the country’s history. But at the helm of the ministry of Finance is an official with a lot of stripes—the former chief ...

China’s leaders set out their policy priorities in March during the annual National People’s Congress, promising further reform while pledging to maintain the current growth rate.

MILESTONES By Tiziana Barghini Ranked 91st by the World Economic Forum for the relatively poor quality of its infrastructure, Peru is gaining importance on the international stage for its ability to attract capital. Its economic growth is expected to surpass ...

NEWSMAKERS By Efraim Chalamish When central bank governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi announced in February that $20 billion in Nigerian oil revenues were missing from the till as a result of corruption, president Goodluck Jonathan responded promptly—by sacking Sanusi. Now not ...

Iceland’s Reykjavik Geothermal will launch a $2 billion project in July to build a power plant on an imploded volcano in Ethiopia’s Rift Valley. The plant, slated to begin operations by 2020, will have a generation capacity of 500 megawatts of electricity.

Getting rid of the “stan” on the end of his country’s name is just one of the many ambitions Kazakhstan’s leader has for his increasingly prosperous country.