President Trump and Saudi Arabia sign major defence, economic agreements

US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed a Strategic Economic Partnership Document and several other agreements on May 13.

EBRD2025: Croatia seeks to build on decade of economic progress

Finance Minister Marko Primorac details Zagreb’s objectives including an overhaul of state owned enterprises, accession to the OECD and revitalisation of the local capital market.

Argentina's credit rating upgraded by Fitch to 'CCC+' on IMF deal

Credit ratings agency Fitch upgraded Argentina's long-term foreign-currency and local-currency issuer default rating to 'CCC+' from 'CCC' on May 12, citing a new IMF programme and foreign exchange market liberalisation.

Ukrainian ex-convict accused of masterminding botched Lima heist

A foiled heist in the heart of Lima has exposed the operations of a foreign-led gang allegedly orchestrated by Vitaliy Zinchenko, a 42-year-old Ukrainian national with a criminal past in Peru.

Russian tycoon Usmanov wins lawsuit against Luxembourg media giant

A German court has banned Mediahuis Luxembourg S.A., the most important media holding in Luxembourg, from referring to Uzbek-born Russian metals and media tycoon Alisher Usmanov as the owner of the luxury superyacht Dilbar.

Iran, Russia launch second phase of banking payment system integration

Iran and Russia rolled out the second phase of their Shetab-Mir payment network integration, strengthening financial ties between the two nations

Saudi Crown Prince launches Humain AI company under PIF

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has announced the launch of Humain, a company owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Indonesia’s data centre industry: huge market, limited infrastructure

Under President Prabowo’s administration, the government has pledged support for the development of the data centre sector to accelerate digital transformation and drive a technology-based economy.

Amazon to build $4bn data centres and cloud infrastructure in Chile

Amazon's cloud computing division has announced plans to invest $4bn in Chile to build its first data centres and cloud infrastructure in the country.

X blocks jailed Imamoglu’s account in Turkey

Opposition leader says move is "digital pillar" of coup mounted by regime to stop Turks electing president they want.

COMMENT: Lessons from Ukraine suggest India will not go to war with Pakistan

The vast economic and demographic imbalance between India and Pakistan strongly favours New Delhi in any theoretical war between the two rivals. Yet, lessons from the ongoing war in Ukraine suggest that India cannot win a total war.

COMMENT: Central Europe’s diverging economic paths challenge regional policy synchronisation – ING

The economic trajectories of Central and Eastern European countries are drifting apart, with growth, inflation, and policy direction showing increasing divergence.

Food, Water, Energy: Romanian extremists' utopian model or a road to authoritarianism

Calin Georgescu’s “Food, Water, Energy” programme promises to heal Romania, but could morph into an authoritarian project.

HALLIGAN: Power struggle in OPEC+ is pulling oil prices down

The oil market has entered choppy waters once again. Crude prices fell by a dramatic 18% in April y/y – the sharpest monthly drop since November 2021 – partly due to a global slowdown, but more due to a power struggle within OPEC+.

COMMENT: The US doesn’t have the clout to split Hungary off from China

The US doesn't have the clout to even get countries as small as Hungary to cut their ties with China, says political commentator and bne IntelliNews columnist Arnaud Bertrand.

Romania pays 8.45% on 14-month Treasury bonds as presidential elections damage investor sentiment

The landslide win by far-right presidential candidate George Simion in the first round of the presidential elections has rattled investors.

Slovak industry returns to growth of 3.5% y/y in March

Slovakia’s industrial output increased by 3.5% year on year and by 0.7% month on month in March, registering the first month of growth this year.

Turkish inflation still ballsing up OECD charts

Despite some progress in reining in prices, Turkey's headline figure is a bar graph section too far.

Every $1 drop in oil price could cost Azerbaijan $300mn in exports, $150mn in budget revenue, ING says

Fluctuations in global oil prices remain a critical vulnerability for Azerbaijan’s economy.

Hungary's CPI falls to 4.2% in April as food price controls take effect

Afghanistan: Grappling with fall-out of dwindling foreign aid

Almost all US assistance terminated.

Business only on Trump's first foreign trip to Saudi Arabia

President Donald Trump will arrive in Riyadh on May 13 for a four-day Middle East tour, with business deals and economic partnerships taking precedence over traditional diplomatic priorities.

INTERVIEW: McEwen Copper bets on Milei's market reforms with $2.7bn Argentina mine

Canadian miner McEwen Copper is pushing ahead with one of Latin America's most ambitious copper projects, betting that President Javier Milei's business-friendly reforms will finally unlock Argentina's untapped mining potential.

Albania’s ruling Socialists head for historic fourth term

Polls show PM Edi Rama’s Socialist Party has a strong lead over its main rival, the opposition Democratic Party, which promises to ‘make Albania great again’.

US sanctions Karen National Army leader, two sons over cyber scams and trafficking links

The OFAC stated the sanctions are in response to the trio's alleged involvement in online financial scams, human trafficking, and cross-border smuggling operations that have targeted US citizens.

ASIA BLOG: Beijing’s South China Sea strategy is about Taiwan — and the world needs to sit up and take notice

Even as Taiwan is described as potentially the most dangerous flashpoint in Asia, it is actually the fulcrum upon which the future of the Indo-Pacific — and by extension the global balance of power — may pivot.

MOSCOW BLOG: A muted V-day parade on Red Square

I have just been watching the Victory Day parade on Red Square. A few observations.

LATAM BLOG: Gold, murder and the collapse of the Peruvian State

The massacre of thirteen miners in Peru's Pataz exposes a state paralysed by its own laws, captured by criminal economies, and sustained by complicit politicians in the country's collapsing fight against illegal mining.

BLOG: The EU’s glacial push to eliminate Russian LNG

The EU is continuing to grapple with the complex challenge of eliminating its remaining oil and gas imports from Russia, as the European Commission prepares to unveil a roadmap this week outlining how to achieve that goal, hopefully by 2027.

LATAM BLOG: Mexico has changed – but for whom?

Under Mexico City's gentrified surface, the wounds of Tlatelolco and Ayotzinapa remain unhealed. After 11 years, the author finds a quieter nation with booming foreign investment, yet questions if democracy has truly triumphed over cartels.

Wildfires in Syria's Jabal Turkman expand as strong winds hamper control efforts

Wildfires in Syria's Jabal Turkman have expanded due to strong winds as firefighting teams battle the blaze for a fifth consecutive day.

Green hydrogen rollout in India slowed by cost gap with grey hydrogen

India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission has outlined a plan to establish the country as a major producer and exporter of green hydrogen.

Young generations face unprecedented climate extremes

More than half of children born in 2020 will experience unprecedented lifetime exposure to extreme heatwaves even if global warming is limited to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Looking at ramifications of China’s shifting energy usage patterns on Central Asia

Renewables are up, fossil fuels down.

Blair think-tank releases scathing criticism of UK climate policy

The arguments contrast sharply with those of the UK’s Labour government.