Search results

Damascus will likely fail to stem currency collapse

Location:

SYRIA

The Syrian pound’s weakening beyond 1,000 to the dollar on the parallel market has exposed the chronic weakness of the economy, even as President Bashar al-Assad’s forces move…

Election will raise institutional frictions in Brazil

Location:

BRAZIL

Lula and President Jair Bolsonaro continue to lead polls ahead of the October general elections. Lula has been leading for months but his advantage over Bolsonaro is narrowing…

Failure of Israel’s West Bank law would cause chaos

Location:

ISRAEL

Political manoeuvring had thwarted government efforts to renew the JSL. However, the Knesset’s dissolution on June 29 resulted in the legislation remaining in effect until a new…

Israeli-Palestinian clashes risk West Bank chaos

Location:

PALESTINIANS

An April 5 Israeli security raid on the mosque led to rocket fire from Gaza, and less predictably, a barrage from southern Lebanon, stoking fears of a regional conflagration. It…

New Zimbabwean currency will struggle for traction

Location:

ZIMBABWE

After a month of fuel protests and a violent military crackdown, Mangudya on February 20 effectively acknowledged Zimbabwean bond notes and electronic RTGS bank balances as part…

Isolation from West will bring Russia and Iran closer

Location:

RUSSIA/IRAN

The two countries have turned to each other amid increasing isolation from international banking systems, export markets, and foreign resources and technologies. Deepening their…

Myanmar macroeconomic pressures likely to rise in 2017

Location:

MYANMAR

Since the party took over governing in April 2016, much attention has focused on Myanmar’s political challenges. Yet the country also faces macroeconomic hurdles, which are likely…

Israel’s 2019 budget assumptions have long-term risks

Location:

ISRAEL

The Knesset (parliament) approved the 2019 state budget on March 15, over nine months early. The 480-billion-shekel (138-billion-dollar) spending package is mildly expansionary at…

Middle East outlook is poised on US election outcome

Location:

MIDDLE EAST/US

The two candidates differ on the timing, scope and scale of US regional engagement. Biden was a strong critic of the policy changes Trump introduced regarding the 2015 Iran…

Latest Israeli-Palestinian fighting resolves nothing

Location:

ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS

In three days of fighting, 44 Palestinians were killed, including two senior PIJ leaders. No Israelis died. Egypt then brokered a ceasefire.