Russian equity flight accelerates
The Russian equity flight, hit hard by declines in world energy and commodity prices and done no favors by the Kremlin’s invasion Georgia last month, is accelerating to a faster pace.
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Ukraine financial crisis gets worse
The Ukraine financial crisis, exacerbated by political turmoil and including the banking sector, has driven the principal national stock equities indicator, the PFTS Index, down 78 per cent from a high of 1,209 in mid-March to 266 on Monday. The … Continue reading →
Georgian invasion makes Russian downturn worse
Moscow’s equity markets, whose benchmark measure has declined with increasing rapidity since the start of the year, reflect the fact that the invasion of Georgia has made the Russian downturn worse. The dollar-denominated RTS index is down 33 per cent … Continue reading →
South Ossetia energy geopolitics
The armed conflict between Russian and Georgia has further exposed the fragile position of the energy links running through the smaller country from the Caspian Sea to developed market economies South Ossetia energy geopolitics on the ground today Russian forces … Continue reading →
Odessa-Brody pipeline in question again
Corruption and politics in Ukraine threaten to choke off, at least in the near term, the expansion of oil exports, through the Odessa-Brody pipeline, from Azerbaijan and eventually Kazakhstan to Europe. This is the significance of Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya … Continue reading →
Gigantism in the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline project
Ground was broken in Kazakhstan last week for construction of that country’s segment of a pipeline for Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline transmission, set to be the longest and most expensive such pipeline in the world. Its length is usually given as … Continue reading →
Caspian pipeline network eases Russia’s grip
New prospects to extend the Caspian pipeline network with a Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline (TCGP) from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan have been receiving deserved attention in recent months. However, another project to pipe energy resources from the western to the eastern shore … Continue reading →
Kazakhstan Investment Law Changes Again
A little over a month ago, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbaev signed amendments passed several weeks previously by the Majilis (parliament) to the law “On the Subsurface and Subsurface Use” that would allow the government to amend or annul natural-resource contracts … Continue reading →
Another trans-Caspian pipeline dream
Recent weeks have seen increasing United States activity in favor of constructing the Trans-Caspian Pipeline for natural gas (TCGP, Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline) from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan. But what are the chances of anything really happening? From the technical standpoint, there … Continue reading →
New Chance for the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline?
A significant indicator of Turkmenistan’s future diplomatic and economic course, and for the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline (TCGP) in particular, is whether new President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow will undertake a rapprochement with Azerbaijan. Former president Saparmurat Niyazov, self-styled “Turkmenbashi” (leader of Turkmens), … Continue reading →