Venezuela, oil prices and political risk

Following the extraordinary people power uprising that toppled the government of Ukraine, and after weeks of protests in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, many are asking, “will Venezuela be the next Ukraine”? There are asking the wrong question. The question is, will...

Ukraine is Europe’s struggle, and it is likely to win

There has been a great deal of commentary regarding alleged blunders that have led us to the current position in Ukraine (as I write this, the Ukrainian province of Crimea has voted to join Russia, and Russia has recognized Crimea’s independence, which could be a...

Could the crisis in Ukraine transform Russia?

Most of the commentary surrounding the extraordinary “euromaidan” demonstrations and fall of Ukraine’s government has focused on Russia’s influence on Ukraine, and in particular, the question of Russian intervention to support the now-deposed Yanukovich government....

After Sochi, where is Russia headed?

Take a look at the graph below of the economic performance of the major oil-rich nations of the world over the past 30 years. The divergence is startling. In this case, “major” is defined as a population exceeding 3 million. “Oil-rich” means that oil exports account...