The economy of Belarus is still deep in recession but the situation is improving as GDP was up in the first quarter as the republic starts to follow the rest of the region into recovery. The GDP ... more
Ukraine’s economy seems to be finally on the mend putting in 2.5% GDP growth in the first quarter. It is not the bounce that might be expected that usually follows a crash as deep as that the ... more
Russia’s economic recovery gathered pace in the first quarter ending with 0.5% growth, bring the two year long recession to an end. The economy is on track to finish this year in the 1%-2% range. ... ... more
The Trump administration on May 17 announced it would continue with Obama-era waivers on sanctions linked to Iran’s nuclear programme. However, taking something of a carrot and stick approach, it ... more
Poland’s GDP grew 2.8% in 2016, the slowest expansion in three years, on the back of weakest investment since 2010. The result was below the government’s outlook of 3-3.2%, which was anyway a ... more
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed victory in Turkey's hotly contested but controversial referendum on introducing an executive-style presidency with sweeping powers. The razor-thin victory ... more
The commodity-dependent Kazakh economy is experiencing one of its toughest years in over a decade as a result of low oil and other commodity prices together with a slowdown in major trading partners ... more
Belarus will be the last eastern European country to emerge from recession this year – and may turn in one more year of negative growth if things go badly. Belarus has been pulled down by a ... more
Amid bleak forecasts from EC and IMF related to the imminent fiscal slippage (EC projects 3.5%-of-GDP deficit this year, 0.5% of GDP above government’s target), Romania announced in May 2017 robust ... more
Ukraine has got off to a poor start in 2017. When Russia crashed in 1998 the economy bounced back the next year growing by a record 10% y/y. Ukraine is not enjoying much of a bounce despite the fact ... more
Russia’s recession is over but that doesn't mean the standards of living are improving or the people feel any more confident about the future. Economic growth was about 1% in the first quarter ... more
Iranian economic growth in the first half of the Persian year (started March 20, 2016) amounted to 7.4%, according to the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Governor Valiollah Seif. This is an improvement on ... more
Poland’s GDP grew 2.8% in 2016, the slowest expansion in three years, on the back of weakest investment since 2010. The result was below the government’s outlook of 3-3.2%, which was anyway a ... more
The commodity-dependent Kazakh economy is experiencing one of its toughest years in over a decade as a result of low oil and other commodity prices together with a slowdown in major trading partners ... more
Romania’s macroeconomic outlook improved but the growth rates of around 4% expected by independent analysts could be compromised by risky fiscal policies embarked by the government in their attempt ... more
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed victory in Turkey's hotly contested but controversial referendum on introducing an executive-style presidency with sweeping powers. The razor-thin victory ... more
Belarus’ economy returned to growth after two years of recession, expanding a modest 0.3% y/y between January and March. Economy Minister Vladimir Zinovskiy attributed the growth to lower ... more
Albania is facing a challenging year as the main opposition Democratic Party is threatening to boycott June 18 general election after it launched protests in February and is also boycotting the ... more
Ukraine has made some real progress on the reform front and two key reforms are on the docket for this year: land ownership liberalization and pension reform that could transform the country. ... more
Russia’s economic recovery continues and growth should go positive in the first half of this year, but it remains weak and fragile without the badly needed structural reforms and/or a boost in oil ... more