Know What's Happening in Emerging Markets
Know What's Happening in Emerging Markets
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.
The article argues that impunity—absence of credible consequences—undermines institutions and economic growth, especially in the Philippines. It cites economic theory and cross‑country data showing that weak rule of law depresses investment and fuels inequality. The piece details how political dynasties, patronage networks, and delayed prosecutions perpetuate a cycle of abuse and voter disengagement. It concludes that structural reforms and informed voter choices are essential to make impunity electorally costly.
Rising tensions between Iran and Israel have revived concerns over the security of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for nearly one‑fifth of global oil shipments. Analysts outline three scenarios: a contained but prolonged missile exchange, a broader regional war...
Donald Trump invoked Winston Churchill to criticize Keir Starmer’s stance on Iran, suggesting the former would back a U.S.-Iran confrontation. The article argues Churchill’s legacy is far more nuanced: he combined hawkish rhetoric with strategic caution, championed the Anglo‑American “special...
The Barangay Skilled Workers Registry Act (HB 7719) cleared its second reading in the House, mandating every barangay to maintain a voluntary, free registry of local skilled workers. Championed by Rep. Jolo Revilla, the bill seeks to make community‑level labor...
Kenya Airways announced two repatriation flights on March 4‑5, 2026, to transport Kenyan and United Arab Emirates citizens between Nairobi and Dubai. The flights are classified as emergency repatriations, not regular services, after Dubai International Airport approved the necessary slots. The...
Everyone is getting increasingly bearish here, and while I understand the concern, the macro backdrop is improving a lot, especially in the US - that we can measure live with Nowcast IQ There is a very very underappreciated comeback in the...
Escalating tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have erupted into open war, with Pakistan conducting air strikes on Kabul, Kandahar and Bagram, and the Taliban responding by targeting Pakistani military sites. The conflict follows a surge in cross‑border attacks by groups...
A year after the Trump administration’s stop‑work orders halted U.S. development assistance, Kenya is feeling the loss of roughly $470 million per year that USAID had funneled into its economy, 80 % of it earmarked for health. The abrupt funding gap coincides...
Maharashtra’s Multi‑Modal International Cargo Hub and Airport (MIHAN) in Nagpur has generated 127,225 jobs, according to IT Minister Ashish Shelar. The hub has attracted investment from 120 companies, with 90 already operating in the SEZ and non‑SEZ zones. The state government...
On March 4, 2026 Israel’s air campaign struck Tehran, Qom and key Iranian military sites, including the first recorded air‑to‑air kill by an F‑35 against an Iranian jet. Iran retaliated with roughly 40 ballistic missiles aimed at U.S. bases in...
U.S. and Israeli officials have increasingly framed the ongoing strikes against Iran in explicitly religious terms, invoking biblical prophecy and the concept of Armageddon. Civil‑rights group CAIR condemned the Pentagon’s rhetoric as dangerous and anti‑Muslim, while the Military Religious Freedom...
U.S. Special Forces have deployed to Ecuador to conduct joint operations against designated terrorist groups. While the exact role remains unclear, the troops are believed to be primarily advisors but are authorized to engage in combat if necessary. The deployment...
ARQ, formerly DolarApp, raised $70 million in a Series B led by Sequoia Capital and Founders Fund. The funding will fuel a rebrand, team expansion, and rollout of new financial products beyond its core stablecoin remittance service. With more than two million...
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that a U.S. submarine fired a torpedo that sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in international waters off Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan authorities recovered several bodies, reported at least 80 deaths and rescued 32...
Silver prices exploded from just over $20 an ounce in late 2024 to a peak of $120 in early 2026, driven by geopolitical uncertainty and soaring demand from solar and electric‑vehicle technologies. Mexico, the world’s largest silver producer, extracted roughly...
The Indian rupee fell to a new record low as the US‑Iran conflict sparked safe‑haven buying of the dollar and pushed oil prices higher. Higher oil costs and the realization that U.S. rate cuts may be delayed have lifted inflation...
Vietnam is projected to outpace all economies in GDP growth over the next decade, according to Harvard’s Growth Lab and S&P Global research. Manufacturing activity accelerated in February, with the PMI rising to 54.3, marking eight months of expansion and...
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that a more moderate, popular figure already embedded in Iran’s regime could lead Tehran after the conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that while the war may be protracted, it is unlikely to last...
China has launched a high‑profile diplomatic campaign to halt the escalating Iran‑U.S./Israel war, calling for an immediate cease‑fire and a return to negotiations. Beijing emphasizes its flexible, interest‑based partnerships with Tehran rather than a binding alliance, underscoring that the Middle...
The United States and Israel carried out a drone strike that killed Iran’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, marking a rare state‑sanctioned assassination of a foreign head of state. The attack, framed as a response to Iran’s nuclear program, instead...
Fitch Ratings lowered Indonesia's credit outlook to negative, citing rising policy uncertainty. The agency kept the long‑term foreign‑currency issuer default rating at BBB, an investment‑grade level. This follows Moody's February decision to downgrade the outlook amid concerns over governance under...
Best Nights VC, the venture arm of Jägermeister, has invested in socially‑responsible hostel chain Mad Monkey alongside lead investor EXS Capital. The deal supports Mad Monkey’s expansion across Southeast Asia and Australia, where it already delivers over one million bed‑nights to more...
Ghana's banking sector is stabilizing as macroeconomic recovery and sweeping reforms take hold. Inflation fell from a record 54.1% in 2022 to 5.4% by early 2026 and the cedi appreciated about 30% while the Bank of Ghana cut its policy...
PensionDanmark has shifted the bulk of its emerging market debt portfolio from external managers to an internal team, now overseeing most hard‑currency and local‑currency sovereign exposure. The fund employs a core‑satellite framework, using the internal core for broad beta and...
Chinese sovereign bonds are positioning themselves as a strategic alternative to US Treasuries, driven by investor demand for geopolitical hedges. Recent dollar‑denominated issuances in Hong Kong saw a 30‑times oversubscription, with coupon rates closely matching Treasury yields. Economist Xu Qiyuan...
In this episode, Daniel Levine talks with Feng Nying Zhang, a partner at McKinsey Shanghai, about Asia’s rapid rise as a global hub for biopharmaceutical innovation, highlighted by a McKinsey report showing the region’s share of innovative drug pipelines jumping...
Vinhomes Green Paradise in Ho Chi Minh City has launched a Smart City Certification Project with Korea Management Association Consulting, the World Council on City Data and the Standardized Urban Metrics initiative. The development aims to become Vietnam’s first internationally...
VinEnergo, the Vietnamese renewable energy arm of Vingroup, unveiled a global expansion plan anchored by a secured 10 GW project portfolio across Europe and Asia. The company aims to scale its total capacity to 100 GW within three years, focusing on 50 GW...
Allianz’s latest Risk Barometer indicates that 51% of more than 3,000 executives view a geopolitically‑driven global supply‑chain paralysis as the most likely Black Swan event within five years, with a global internet outage close behind. The survey highlights rising concern...
Iran has launched strikes against U.S. bases in the Gulf States, citing their role in the U.S.-Israel campaign, yet it has refrained from hitting the two American installations in Turkey. Tehran views the Gulf nations as militarily weak and economically...
In Asia, Thailand and South Korea have the highest GDP exposure to imported oil & so the violence today in Korea and Thai markets reflects fear how that will play out. Note that this is negative for Asia in general but...
Cambodia will host the Francophonie Summit in November, prompting tourism leaders to view the event as a catalyst for repositioning the country as a hub for trade, talent, and long‑stay visitors. Industry voices urge the government and private sector to...
Geopolitical tensions in 2026 have re‑emerged as a primary driver of global capital flows, prompting investors to seek defensive positions. Tens of billions of dollars have moved into money‑market funds, while traditional safe havens such as U.S. Treasuries, gold, and...
The United States and Israel launched a coordinated strike—codenamed Epic Fury and Rising Lion—marking the first fully integrated U.S.-Israeli combat operation against Iran. The joint effort combined American air power with Israeli intelligence and special‑operations assets, targeting Tehran’s nuclear and...
Eastern DR Congo’s eastern provinces sit atop lithium, gold, coltan and other critical minerals that power the global energy transition and digital economy. Rising demand has drawn a slate of international actors, from the United States to China, intensifying geopolitical...
*CIRCUIT BREAKER TRIGGERED AFTER S. KOREA'S KOSPI PLUNGES 8% *KOREA'S KOSPI EXTENDS DROP TO 10% AFTER TRADING RESUMES The chart shows that the South Korean KOSPI stock index has doubled since last August (green) and has already corrected 17% from Friday's high...
investors who've missed the emerging markets $EEM absolute + relative strength are offered a (relative) pullback against... https://t.co/SjnvdgBiKB
China's official manufacturing PMI slipped to 49.0 in February, matching a 33‑month low, while the private RatingDog index rose to 52.1, highlighting a split between domestic weakness and export‑driven resilience. Sub‑indices show production, new orders and employment contracting, even as...
Fertilizer manufacturers in South Asia are beginning to cut output due to an outage at Qatar’s LNG export plant ⚠️ 🇮🇳 Some Indian manufacturers started reducing production at urea plans 🇵🇰 Pakistan’s gas distributor declared FM on to fertiliser plants https://t.co/LUjKJcUg25
Nervous consolidation is the main feature in the capital markets after Asia Pacific equities extended their slide. $USD is mostly softer but in yesterday's ranges. Japan's MOF threatened intervention. See https://t.co/24YmyiETAN https://t.co/XmEx257iS8
China’s RatingDog Manufacturing PMI surged to 62.1 in February, up from 50.3 in January, while the Services PMI rose to 56.7, both beating market expectations. The strong readings signal a robust rebound in Chinese factory output and service activity. The...
What I don’t understand is the position of PRC companies. Do they want the headache of dealing with geopolitics? They’re competitive in their own right. If this goes on, Chinese products will be shut out of Western markets.
India faces a looming gas crunch after Qatar halted LNG production, jeopardising the primary feedstock for urea manufacturing. The country currently holds only about two months of buffer stocks for urea and DAP, and prolonged shortages could force local plants...
Canadian airlines are trimming U.S. leisure capacity and redirecting aircraft to Latin America and the Caribbean as geopolitical tensions and trade‑policy shifts dampen cross‑border demand. Air Canada signals that the decline may be bottoming out, while Porter Airlines adds new...
Ukraine’s labor market has endured a massive shock since the February 2022 invasion, losing roughly a quarter of its pre‑war workforce due to displacement, mobilization and casualties. Despite a spike in unemployment above 20% in 2022, the rate fell to...
A suicide bomber from the Islamic State Khorasan Province struck a Chinese‑owned restaurant in Kabul on Jan. 19, killing seven and injuring dozens. The attack exposed the Taliban’s inability to guarantee security for foreign nationals, undermining its claims of a safe...
Kazakhstan will hold a March 15 referendum to adopt a new constitution, replacing the 1995 charter that anchored a strong presidential system. The draft revises more than 80 percent of existing law across 95 articles, aiming to modernize governance for a digital‑focused...
Ukraine has lost roughly a quarter of its civilian workforce since the 2022 invasion, with 3.5 million workers displaced, mobilised, or killed. Despite this shock, aggregate job‑matching efficiency declined only about 15%, a smaller drop than during the 2008 U.S. financial...
Rising crude prices, driven by the Iran‑Israel conflict, could push the Philippine peso past the 59 per‑dollar threshold. MUFG forecasts the PHP trading between 58.5 and 59.5 if oil steadies around $90 a barrel, while JP Morgan sees a modest global...
#HankeInflationDashboard: By my measurements, as of March 1st, this week's top 5 inflators are: 🇻🇪Venezuela — 656.1%/yr 🇰🇵North Korea — 107.8%/yr 🇮🇷Iran— 84.6%/yr 🇱🇾Libya — 63.8%/yr 🇨🇺Cuba — 50.0%/yr https://t.co/FrHE7rOpRu
