
Taiwan Secures Major LNG Supply Backing Amid Middle‑East Tensions
Taiwan’s economy minister announced that a leading LNG‑producing nation has pledged to meet the island’s natural‑gas needs, offering extra cargoes on request. The move follows concerns that the Iran‑Russia war could disrupt Middle‑East supplies. A separate agreement with the United States will provide 1.2 million tonnes of LNG each year.
Industry body Assocham says India will grow above 7% in FY27, buoyed by consumption and investment, even as the OECD projects a slower 6.1% pace. Analysts warn that soaring oil and gas prices and fertilizer supply shocks could strain the fiscal deficit and market sentiment.
In this episode, RAINN analyst Chase Blazik explains how the Iran war is reshaping security and energy dynamics across the Asia‑Pacific. He details the recent Washington summit between Japan’s Prime Minister Takeichi and President Trump, highlighting Japan’s delicate balancing act...

In this Inside Economics episode, Mark Zandi and co‑hosts discuss the rising probability of a U.S. recession amid the Iran‑Israel conflict, higher oil prices, and tightening financial conditions. Using a random‑forest model that aggregates dozens of leading indicators—especially labor market...

The African Export‑Import Bank will make industrialisation the centerpiece of its 33rd Annual Meetings in El Alamein, Egypt, from June 21‑24. The gathering will convene heads of state, policymakers, financiers and private‑sector leaders to design projects that shift Africa’s trade model from...
The episode examines the surprising resurgence of emerging‑market bond issuance, led by African issuers such as Angola and telecom tower firm Helios, while Central‑Eastern European and Middle‑Eastern markets remain largely dormant due to war‑related volatility. George Collard explains why lower‑rated...
India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met on the sidelines of the WTO’s 14th ministerial in Yaounde to review progress on a bilateral trade agreement announced in February. The parties reaffirmed a March signing target...

Operation Epic Fury, the US‑Israeli offensive against Iran, has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, choking roughly 20% of global crude oil flow and a host of other critical commodities. The closure also traps 22% of urea and ammonia, 24%...

Thailand’s Association of Investment Management Companies (AIMC) is pushing a private‑trust framework and new asset‑management legislation to turn the country into a regional hub for wealth capital, especially from the Middle East. The plan includes Singapore‑style tax incentives, a 10‑year...
Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains virtually halted four weeks into the Iran‑Israel conflict, with only six vessels recorded on March 26 versus the pre‑war average of nearly 60 daily transits in 2025. Iran announced a toll system demanding...
Europe has cut Russian gas imports by 90% since 2021 and aims to end them by November 2027. To replace the lost volume, the continent now relies on LNG, exposing it to global shipping chokepoints. The Eastern Mediterranean basin, with...
Why Energy Shocks Like the Iran War Are Accelerating Electrification Canada gets it wrong. Iran war is encouraging Global South (inc Asia) to switch from oil/LNG to renewables/electrotech. #cdnpoli https://youtu.be/7IbLVXk81Ow
The government amended Press Note 3 of 2020 to define beneficial ownership for investors from countries sharing a land border with India, allowing them up to 10% equity via the automatic route and a 60‑day approval window. Foreign direct investment reached a...
Independent testing of ore from a newly identified Alaskan deposit found it exceeds military‑grade quality thresholds. The discovery could reshape U.S. supply chains for defense‑critical minerals, intensifying the clash between mining advocates and conservation groups.
Dubai has surged to seventh place in the Global Financial Centres Index, its highest position ever and the top ranking for any centre in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. The rise reflects rapid growth at the Dubai International...
The United States is moving from air strikes to ground operations in its escalating war with Iran, dispatching Army paratroopers and weighing a larger troop surge. The shift, reported by multiple outlets, raises questions about the conflict’s trajectory and its...
Russia's oil export revenues have resumed growth after four years of decline, buoyed by higher energy prices and a temporary U.S. sanctions easing. However, the country's ability to capitalize on this rebound is constrained by aging western pipelines and ports...
My take on the Chinese five year plan and the rise of "high quality" as approximating a "Xi Doctrine" on the economy - for @CarnegieEndow Emissary @CarnegieChina The TL:DR version: - For Xi, innovation-driven economy > consumption driven economy. -...

No better timing than to have @LukeGromen as my guest tonight on The Danny Moses Show @scrippsnews at 7PM ET. We discuss the impact that the war in Iran is having on global markets & what we should be watching....
At the Future Investment Initiative in Miami, WTTC Chairman Manfredi Lefebvre warned that Latin America’s trillion‑dollar growth prospects depend on fixing chronic infrastructure gaps. The council estimates the region must invest about $150 billion each year—roughly 2.4 % of GDP—to close shortfalls...

WSJ: How Trump’s Tariffs Are Choking U.S.-China Trade (with AMAZING charts) by @hannahmiao_ & @CloudberryRoque 🤓 👉🏻 https://t.co/vNeIUWWiqm https://t.co/GB3I7d35ly
Houthis Threaten Red Sea Escalation as Iran War Risks Spreading to Second Shipping Chokepoint https://t.co/9Nypu2iQHO

Fitch reaffirmed Israel’s sovereign credit rating at A with a negative outlook on March 27, 2026, citing escalating war costs and fiscal strain. The agency highlighted that the ongoing Operation Lion’s Roar and northern front clashes forced Israel to exceed its budget...

US special envoy to the Middle East Witkoff says that Iran and US will hold talks soon https://t.co/TVVUeaYqaZ

As I mentioned on Wednesday, there is a $3 trillion gap between China's accumulated current account surplus since the pandemic and China's unchanged reserves (and a corresponding gap in visible flows into the US) Bank flows make up most of the...
Rathbones Asset Management launched the Rathbone Sicav Global Emerging Markets Equity fund, expanding its Luxembourg‑based SICAV platform. Managed by former GAM professionals Tim Love and Joaquim Nogueira, the active fund will hold 80‑120 stocks, using bottom‑up selection and top‑down screens...
In my view, markets are underestimating systemic risks of Middle East War and overestimating systemics risks of private credit
Rebecca Fannin, author of THE NEW TECH TITANS OF CHINA on how the U.S. can respond to China’s growing lead in several tech areas including batteries, energy, EVs and AI. https://t.co/DFOk3yJikn

China’s 15th Five‑Year Plan (2026‑2030) places AI and cybersecurity at the core of its strategy to become a global tech superpower. The plan accelerates deployment of Chinese AI models, especially open‑source offerings like DeepSeek R‑1, while embedding strict information‑control mandates aligned...
Decent odds we see some export bans for key commodities where India can move global prices (eg rice, sugar)

OUT NOW - Former PIMCO Sovereign Credit Head on Iran War's global stagflation shock & risks for sovereign bonds. EM central banks don't have luxury of "seeing through" $100 oil - many will feel pressure to hike Apple 🔊https://t.co/FbjlbTwSHF Spotify📽️https://t.co/BWmky8uYIF https://t.co/eMPzAa5H18
ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos warned that the ongoing Middle East war could trigger systemic stress across financial markets, jeopardising investor sentiment in Europe. He cautioned that while spillovers to the euro‑area have so far been contained, the conflict...
Not even a slight bounce on this headline. *US SIGNALS TO ALLIES NO IMMEDIATE PLANS FOR IRAN INVASION
This is important 👇 1. USA is in Cold War with China 2. Europe is economically dependent on China. Something has to change because 1+2 is incompatible with a partnership, which is why the partnership is deteriorating
The Indian rupee breached 94.70 per U.S. dollar on Friday, its weakest level ever, as Brent crude surged above $107 a barrel and geopolitical risk in West Asia intensified. Foreign portfolio investors dumped roughly $9.5‑$10 bn of Indian equities, while the...
An assessment of China's new Five-Year Plan from my @CarnegieEndow teammate @damienics who directs @CarnegieChina in Singapore.
This is important especially since US and China are the only countries able to ‘police’ the strait of Hormuz

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation urged major exporters such as BYD and CATL to adopt healthier, fair‑competition practices as they expand abroad. The regulator highlighted the need to curb “involution‑style” competition that squeezes margins and forces costly overseas moves....
China Hits Back at U.S. With New Trade Probes Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit Beijing responds to investigations by the U.S. that could raise tariffs @pstAsiatech: yes, Beijing will respond to every measure coming from within Beltway, every one.. https://t.co/XZraiO7f8W
How China Is Playing the Long Game With Trump China is always playing the long game... https://t.co/ca5y4Jpyct

Turkey’s central bank sold roughly $3 billion of gold last week, cutting its reserves to 772 tonnes – the steepest weekly decline since August 2018. The sale is part of $26 billion in foreign‑currency sales since the Iran‑related war began, wiping about $35 billion from...

"Expectations Worsen After Start of Military Conflict in Iran, Particularly Over Short Run" - UMichigan sentiment survey https://t.co/w6h4uxLJ0V

Looks like all is not well between Iran and China/COSCO as two of their ships were turned around at the toll gate. "COSCO’s ships are a new gauge for Hormuz crisis" https://t.co/i9oWIPHi5V https://t.co/266IvJBUES

From March 24‑27, Boao’s Dongyu Island Cultural Park hosted the “Boao: Where the World Meets, Qionghai: Where Free Trade Thrives” city exhibition, the first showcase since Hainan Free Trade Port’s island‑wide customs launch. The event highlighted Qionghai’s role as a...

Russia’s banks were cut off from the SWIFT network in 2022, prompting the country to rely on its domestic messaging system, SPFS. While SPFS kept internal payments flowing and softened the immediate shock, it did not replicate SWIFT’s global reach,...

HSBC’s latest Emerging Markets Sentiment Survey shows optimism reaching a record high, with 68% of investors bullish on EM assets over the next three months, up from 63% previously. The survey recorded zero bearish responses, marking the 14th consecutive reading...
The United States and Indonesia signed a $33 billion trade agreement that eases U.S. access to Indonesia’s critical minerals and fossil‑fuel sectors. Activists and watchdogs label the pact ‘extractive colonialism,’ warning it could accelerate mining, weaken export controls and deepen environmental...
Deribit, the leading crypto derivatives exchange, is set for a large Bitcoin options expiry this week, with industry estimates hovering around $14 billion. The event coincides with a sharp rebound in oil prices and heightened geopolitical risk from the Middle East,...
The Bloomberg Next Africa podcast warns that the war in Iran could trigger a farming crisis across the continent. Iran supplies a large share of the world’s nitrogen‑based fertilizers, and conflict threatens to choke off those exports. African growers, already...
Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines are accelerating nuclear power projects to meet soaring electricity needs of AI data centers, a shift driven by soaring oil prices from the Iran war. The region could contribute roughly 40 GW of new...

China’s recent Two Sessions underscored technology as the cornerstone of its economic strategy, signaling a shift from a purely top‑down innovation model to a “platform state” approach. In this model, the government acts like a digital platform, shaping market rules...