Latest Updates

Moldova’s presidential election is over, now the battle for the parliament begins

President-elect Maia Sandu has plans for radical changes in Moldova starting with an overhaul of the judiciary, but to achieve this, she will need an ally as prime minster – which can only be achieved through snap elections.

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Webinar & Podcast: Whither Ukraine in 2021?

Without an IMF deal can Ukraine get through 2021 without a crisis? With $11bn of debt to pay in debt redemption but only $26bn in reserves, Ukraine is headed for a crisis unless it can kiss and make up with the IMF.

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COMMENT: Ukraine and the Biden Presidency

Will the upcoming Biden Presidency be good for Ukraine? The answer is yes, but there are questions that must be answered.

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COMMENT: Romania’s foreign debt, reserves and gold during the pandemic

Romania's external debt increased quite fast during the last year, rising from 48% to more than 56% of GDP, accelerated by the decline of GDP during the pandemic.

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Sberbank's joint project with Mail.ru is in limbo

Following the high-profile divorce between Russia's largest, state-owned lender Sberbank and tech giant Yandex earlier this year, the future of the bank's partnership with another local tech company, Mail.ru Group, is now also in danger of collapsing

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Russian police unveil $720mn AI-focused digitalisation scheme

Russia's Interior Ministry has presented to the government a RUB55bn ($720mn) digital transformation programme that has a heavy focus on artificial intelligence (AI).

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Moldova’s foreign policy reset

President-elect Maia Sandu is committed to Moldova’s European integration but she won’t needlessly antagonise Russia.

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Belarusian police introduce colour-coded torture system for detained protesters

Belarusian police have introduced a colour-coded system for marking detainees that determines how severely they will be beaten, according to reports posted on social media

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BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: Turkey shakes off reality in the pursuit of single-digit inflation

The markets have been given their chunky rate hike. They must now buy stories such as when the country’s currency depreciates by 50%, its inflation can rise by only 12%, even though it has an import-dependent economy.

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MEPs urge European Commission to act against Hungarian media financing in North Macedonia and Slovenia

Constitutional Court defers decision on Romania's budget-busting 40% pension hike

Von der Leyen tells Poland and Hungary to contest rule of law link to EU money in court

MEPs urge European Commission to act against Hungarian media financing in North Macedonia and Slovenia

MEPs suspect “gross interference” in democratic process in North Macedonia by Hungarian companies close to PM Viktor Orban’s inner circle.

Constitutional Court defers decision on Romania's budget-busting 40% pension hike

Scaling back the pension hike is a prerequisite for avoiding a sovereign downgrade.

Von der Leyen tells Poland and Hungary to contest rule of law link to EU money in court

Warsaw and Budapest are blocking the adoption of the EU’s €1.8 trillion budget for 2021-2027, including the €750bn recovery plan to reinvigorate the bloc’s economy after the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

News

Turkey starts releasing virus data that includes symptom free cases

Move comes out of the blue—and shows a daily case total more than twice as high as Iran’s.

Ukraine strikes deal with Turkey to produce killer drones instrumental in Karabakh conflict

Production might possibly be complicated by parts export ban introduced by Canada.

Bulgaria imposes 3-week lockdown to slow down COVID-19 spread

The decision comes after weeks of high numbers of new cases putting intense pressure on hospitals. Many Bulgarians believe it comes too late.

Accusations fly as a new coronavirus vaccine candidate enters the race for the $100bn market

Another vaccine has entered the race to cure the world of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but unlike the US version, when AstraZeneca announced its successful preliminary trial results its share price crashed as a result.

Turkey to scrap asset ratio slapped on banks year ago

Erdogan administration has launched a ‘market friendly’ period in attempt at stopping the rot of lira depreciation, but currency has been back under pressure this week despite chunky rate hike.

Turkey starts releasing virus data that includes symptom free cases

14 hours ago

Ukraine strikes deal with Turkey to produce killer drones instrumental in Karabakh conflict

15 hours ago

Bulgaria imposes 3-week lockdown to slow down COVID-19 spread

1 day ago

Accusations fly as a new coronavirus vaccine candidate enters the race for the $100bn market

2 days ago

Turkey to scrap asset ratio slapped on banks year ago

1 day ago

More News

Tech

Kahoot pays $31mn cash for Tallinn-based Hungarian learning startup

The acquisition is part of Kahoot’s strategy to expand into new areas of learning, whether at school, work or home.

Lithuanian telecom giant’s market value surges past €1bn after 5G launch

Telia Lietuva's stock began to rise after the company announced on November 10 that it was the first in Lithuania to start testing 11 5G base stations in the city centres of Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipeda.

Ex-official’s electric vehicle start-up valued at $5.4bn

The UK-based Arrival electric vehicle start-up, founded by Russian businessman and ex-Deputy Minister of Communications Denis Sverdlov, announced this week that it intends to IPO on Nadaq with a $5.4bn valuation, reports The Bell.

Czech companies dominate this year’s Deloitte Technology Fast 50 CE

A record 21 Czech companies made it into the ranking of the region’s fastest growing tech businesses.

After raising $2.1mn, this Russian truck driving startup wants to become a unicorn

Fura, a Moscow-based startup offering high-tech services to truck drivers, has raised 160mn rubles ($2.1mn at the current exchange rate) in a Series A round led by an unnamed Swiss-Russian fund.

Kahoot pays $31mn cash for Tallinn-based Hungarian learning startup

1 day ago

Lithuanian telecom giant’s market value surges past €1bn after 5G launch

2 days ago

Ex-official’s electric vehicle start-up valued at $5.4bn

3 days ago

Czech companies dominate this year’s Deloitte Technology Fast 50 CE

6 days ago

After raising $2.1mn, this Russian truck driving startup wants to become a unicorn

8 days ago

More Tech

Opinion

FPRI BMB Russia: Putin shakes up Russia’s development agencies

After shaking up the government, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is moving on to Russia’s development institutions. Mishustin announced the long-awaited reform of Russia’s sprawling network of 40 development institutions.

COMMENT: Moscow's new rules

Three decades on from the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia is learning to be just Russia. Its imperial ambitions have evaporated and its relations with its neighbours have become more pragmatic, as Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Nagorno-Karabakh events show.

STOLYPIN: Hawks in DC risk empowering their counterparts in Moscow

There has been a rash of commentary ahead of the Joe Biden presidency calling for a hardening of foreign policy towards Russia, whereas the leading analysts in Moscow see the possibility of a less confrontational Kremlin.

COMMENT: Ukraine is set up for a fast recovery

The Ukrainian economy is going through a typical V-shaped recovery – a 11.4% y/y drop in 2Q narrowed to c. 5% y/y decline in 3Q, according to SP Advisors, a Kyiv-based investment boutique that is a veteran of investing into Ukraine.

In Karabakh deal, as many questions as answers

The deal left unmentioned critical issues like the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh and Turkey’s role in implementing the ceasefire.

FPRI BMB Russia: Putin shakes up Russia’s development agencies

1 day ago

COMMENT: Moscow's new rules

11 days ago

STOLYPIN: Hawks in DC risk empowering their counterparts in Moscow

9 days ago

COMMENT: Ukraine is set up for a fast recovery

10 days ago

In Karabakh deal, as many questions as answers

14 days ago

More Opinion

Data

Polish retail sales contract in October as COVID-19 restrictions and social gloom hit

Shops saw fewer customers in October, as restrictions limited people’s mobility and the general context of a surging pandemic weakened customer confidence.

Russia’s Watcom shopping index down again in November but stabilising

Russia’s Watcom shopping index continued to slide in early November. Although lower than at any time since the survey's launch in 2014, its decline rate is slowing. The fall was less than feared and the levels of foot traffic seem to be stabilising

Zagreb Stock Exchange’s Crobex10 index rallies to highest level since March

Crobex and Crobex10 indexes both up sharply on November 16 following positive vaccine news and Moody's upgrade.

Polish economy rebounds in Q3 but recovery unlikely to hold firm

Polish GDP fell a seasonally adjusted 2% y/y in the third quarter after retreating 7.9% y/y in April-June, a flash estimate released by the Central Statistical Office (GUS) showed.

Coronacrisis to get worse before it gets better forecasts wiiw

Most of CEE is heading for a double-dip recession this year as the latest wave of the crisis will result in fresh contractions in 4Q20, say wiiw economists.

Polish retail sales contract in October as COVID-19 restrictions and social gloom hit

2 days ago

Russia’s Watcom shopping index down again in November but stabilising

7 days ago

Zagreb Stock Exchange’s Crobex10 index rallies to highest level since March

9 days ago

Polish economy rebounds in Q3 but recovery unlikely to hold firm

10 days ago

Coronacrisis to get worse before it gets better forecasts wiiw

13 days ago

More Data

Features

Attack of the Debt Tsunami: global debt soars to a new all-time high

The coronacrisis has sent already record-high levels of global debt soaring to giddying new levels, reports the Institute of International Finance (IIF) in a note released on November 18.

Kyrgyzstan's China debt: Between crowdfunding and austerity

Beijing does not appear disposed to give too much leeway.

Rural Russians are moving to cities to escape the impoverished regions

The coronavirus (COVID-19) story in most of Russia’s regions is bleak and Russians are increasingly moving to the cities looking for a better life.

Just how close is Belarus to an economic crisis?

Gripped with the lingering political turmoil, the Belarusian economy is sinking despite a $1.5bn loan lifeline thrown to it by the Kremlin to help Belarus’ self-appointed leader Alexander Lukashenko tough out a huge political and economic crisis.

Why has devaluation not helped Turkey’s current account balance?

The currencies of the major emerging markets (EMs) have been gradually depreciating over the last three decades, but that normally helps the current account balance. In Turkey's case the opposite is happening.

Attack of the Debt Tsunami: global debt soars to a new all-time high

7 days ago

Kyrgyzstan's China debt: Between crowdfunding and austerity

8 days ago

Rural Russians are moving to cities to escape the impoverished regions

9 days ago

Just how close is Belarus to an economic crisis?

9 days ago

Why has devaluation not helped Turkey’s current account balance?

14 days ago

More Features

Blogs

BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: Erdogan swallows humble pie and bitter pill as market gets its rate hike but watch for sleights of hand

Turkey's new central bank governor lifts main policy rate 475bp to 15% and says funding will only be available at this benchmark. That’s not the whole story, though.

ISTANBUL BLOG: Turkey’s official figures (and moustaches) are a little too neat

New finance minister, who is sold as “orthodox”, issues same growth forecast as his predecessor. Moment of truth nears for those invested in upcoming rates announcement.

BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: Foreign investors on the roller-coaster, Turks stick to ‘wait-and-see’

Erdogan in self-survival mode is signalling to Biden that he’s a weathercock. The market wants to know whether his words will extend to meaningful action in monetary and other policies.

BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: Lira in sharpest weekly advance since 1994 as “market pursues volatility”

Big move enters chart in which the years are seen as ‘keywords’ when it comes to Turkey. Why so? Because they were all crisis years.

ISTANBUL BLOG: The Man With the Golden Swab. UK’s spymaster visits palace after Erdogan family implosion

With coronavirus raging all around, “C” has been on Her Majesty’s secret service in Ankara. What was so pressing that it couldn’t wait?

BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: Erdogan swallows humble pie and bitter pill as market gets its rate hike but watch for sleights of hand

6 days ago

ISTANBUL BLOG: Turkey’s official figures (and moustaches) are a little too neat

8 days ago

BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: Foreign investors on the roller-coaster, Turks stick to ‘wait-and-see’

9 days ago

BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: Lira in sharpest weekly advance since 1994 as “market pursues volatility”

10 days ago

ISTANBUL BLOG: The Man With the Golden Swab. UK’s spymaster visits palace after Erdogan family implosion

12 days ago

More Blogs

Latest Updates

News

Move comes out of the blue—and shows a daily case total more than twice as high as Iran’s.

Production might possibly be complicated by parts export ban introduced by Canada.

The decision comes after weeks of high numbers of new cases putting intense pressure on hospitals. Many Bulgarians believe it comes too late.

Another vaccine has entered the race to cure the world of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but unlike the US version, when AstraZeneca announced its successful preliminary trial results its share price crashed as a result.

Erdogan administration has launched a ‘market friendly’ period in attempt at stopping the rot of lira depreciation, but currency has been back under pressure this week despite chunky rate hike.

Tech

The acquisition is part of Kahoot’s strategy to expand into new areas of learning, whether at school, work or home.

Telia Lietuva's stock began to rise after the company announced on November 10 that it was the first in Lithuania to start testing 11 5G base stations in the city centres of Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipeda.

The UK-based Arrival electric vehicle start-up, founded by Russian businessman and ex-Deputy Minister of Communications Denis Sverdlov, announced this week that it intends to IPO on Nadaq with a $5.4bn valuation, reports The Bell.

A record 21 Czech companies made it into the ranking of the region’s fastest growing tech businesses.

Fura, a Moscow-based startup offering high-tech services to truck drivers, has raised 160mn rubles ($2.1mn at the current exchange rate) in a Series A round led by an unnamed Swiss-Russian fund.

Opinion

After shaking up the government, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is moving on to Russia’s development institutions. Mishustin announced the long-awaited reform of Russia’s sprawling network of 40 development institutions.

Three decades on from the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia is learning to be just Russia. Its imperial ambitions have evaporated and its relations with its neighbours have become more pragmatic, as Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Nagorno-Karabakh events show.

There has been a rash of commentary ahead of the Joe Biden presidency calling for a hardening of foreign policy towards Russia, whereas the leading analysts in Moscow see the possibility of a less confrontational Kremlin.

The Ukrainian economy is going through a typical V-shaped recovery – a 11.4% y/y drop in 2Q narrowed to c. 5% y/y decline in 3Q, according to SP Advisors, a Kyiv-based investment boutique that is a veteran of investing into Ukraine.

The deal left unmentioned critical issues like the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh and Turkey’s role in implementing the ceasefire.

Data

Shops saw fewer customers in October, as restrictions limited people’s mobility and the general context of a surging pandemic weakened customer confidence.

Russia’s Watcom shopping index continued to slide in early November. Although lower than at any time since the survey's launch in 2014, its decline rate is slowing. The fall was less than feared and the levels of foot traffic seem to be stabilising

Crobex and Crobex10 indexes both up sharply on November 16 following positive vaccine news and Moody's upgrade.

Polish GDP fell a seasonally adjusted 2% y/y in the third quarter after retreating 7.9% y/y in April-June, a flash estimate released by the Central Statistical Office (GUS) showed.

Most of CEE is heading for a double-dip recession this year as the latest wave of the crisis will result in fresh contractions in 4Q20, say wiiw economists.

Features

The coronacrisis has sent already record-high levels of global debt soaring to giddying new levels, reports the Institute of International Finance (IIF) in a note released on November 18.

Beijing does not appear disposed to give too much leeway.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) story in most of Russia’s regions is bleak and Russians are increasingly moving to the cities looking for a better life.

Gripped with the lingering political turmoil, the Belarusian economy is sinking despite a $1.5bn loan lifeline thrown to it by the Kremlin to help Belarus’ self-appointed leader Alexander Lukashenko tough out a huge political and economic crisis.

The currencies of the major emerging markets (EMs) have been gradually depreciating over the last three decades, but that normally helps the current account balance. In Turkey's case the opposite is happening.

Blogs

Turkey's new central bank governor lifts main policy rate 475bp to 15% and says funding will only be available at this benchmark. That’s not the whole story, though.

New finance minister, who is sold as “orthodox”, issues same growth forecast as his predecessor. Moment of truth nears for those invested in upcoming rates announcement.

Erdogan in self-survival mode is signalling to Biden that he’s a weathercock. The market wants to know whether his words will extend to meaningful action in monetary and other policies.

Big move enters chart in which the years are seen as ‘keywords’ when it comes to Turkey. Why so? Because they were all crisis years.

With coronavirus raging all around, “C” has been on Her Majesty’s secret service in Ankara. What was so pressing that it couldn’t wait?

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Ukraine has been on a rollercoaster ride this year. After the wild optimism following the election of Ukrainian president Volodymy....

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