Azerbaijan
M&A hits €8.5bn in CEE in Q1, says Mergermarket
Trend towards bigger deals and more fund investment continues, as deal value rises by half to give best Q1 since 2013.
Azerbaijan accused of fomenting ethnic hatred with display of dead Armenian soldiers’ helmets
Yerevan, meanwhile, moves towards putting on trial two men from Syria it claims served as mercenaries in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict after being recruited by Turkey to fight for Baku.
Nakhchivan rail plans promise to rewire Caucasus connections
Iran stands to be one of the winners of the new regional transportation map.
CEE reels as third wave of COVID-19 breaks
A third wave of the coronavirus pandemic is sweeping through Emerging Europe. While Russia is expecting to reach herd immunity in the next two months, most other countries of the region have only just started their mass immunisation programmes.
Perspectives: Turkey and China – can Azerbaijan be the bridge?
Since shepherding Azerbaijan’s military victory last autumn, Turkey has been on a Silk Road charm offensive. The challenge is turning talk into action.
Analysis: Caucasus bond review
Capital markets take war, the pandemic and political unrest in stride. The second in a two-part series.
Rising inflation in Emerging Europe poses dilemma for central banks
With economies primed to rebound as pandemic restrictions are loosened, consumer prices could rise even further, reawakening an issue that has long been ignored.
Iranians become top foreign buyers of Turkish homes
Attraction of a passport for those who spend a minimum $250,000 is the driver.
Analysis in atomic scientists’ bulletin calls on Armenia to close “dangerous” nuclear power plant
Urges EU to step up efforts to persuade Yerevan time is up for Soviet facility located in earthquake zone.
ING: Commodity supercycle calls grow
It has been an exceptional month for commodity markets, with growing inflation expectations increasing investor interest in the assets. Meanwhile, fundamental developments, particularly in the oil market, have only provided a further boost.
ING: Oil prices at $60, now what?
There seems to be no stopping oil prices, with ICE Brent now trading well above $60/bbl. Clearly OPEC+ cuts are doing their job, while global recovery hopes are playing a big part. Will the oil price keep rising?
Abuse and hate speech against LGBTI people rises across Europe and Central Asia
Crackdown on democracy and civil society during pandemic accompanied by increase in hate speech by politicians finds ILGA-Europe report.
Turkey’s Q2 natural gas import prices set to rise, talks launched on Iran contract
Oil-indexed prices on track to rise substantially. Pipeline operator Botas is front-loading its 2021 take.
Petrostates to lose trillions of dollars in revenues amid clean energy push: report
New “wake-up call” analysis from Carbon Tracker looks at impact of shift towards lower-carbon energy.
BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: Soft power in the Balkans, hard power in the Caucasus
A mid-sized power, Turkey wields considerable clout in its near neighbourhood.
Following war with Armenia, Azerbaijan gains control of lucrative gold mines
The losses to tax revenues will hit the de facto Nagorno-Karabakh government even harder than Yerevan.
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OUTLOOK 2021 Azerbaijan
The country won the Nagorno-Karabakh war, but can it win the peace? Crisis-hit 2020 looks to have taken 5% off Azerbaijani GDP. For now the path is clear to growth this year of around 2%.
CAUCASUS BLOG : What can Biden offer the Caucasus and Stans, all but forgotten about by Trump?
Unlike his predecessor, the new US president will at least take an interest in issues such as Georgia's deep divisions, organised crime in the Kyrgyz government and Nagorno-Karabakh. But his in-tray is rather full with other pressing matters.
