Legislative elections will be held in Russia on September 18, 2016. They have been moved forward from December 4th. In play are all 450 seats in the State Duma which is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia. In contrast, the next presidential election will be held in 2018. United Russia has been the ruling party since the 2011 election cycle. At that time they were able to capture 49.32% of the vote, which gave them 238 seats or 53% […]
Another Crucial Election in Spain Approaches
King Felipe VI of Spain had no choice, but to call for another national election. There were a number of different attempts to form a government, which all failed since December. The Conservatives (PP) under Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy have continued the task of running the government on a daily basis, but it is only a caretaker. In power since 2011, the Party still remains the largest in voter support, but no longer has a mandate to create a working majority in […]
Weekly Market Review June Week 1
The week would be highlighted by two meetings in Vienna, Austria. One would be OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Export Countries), where the oil cartel would once again attempt a production freeze on oil output. The other would be the ECB (European Central Bank) where it would be decided if the financial institution would expand stimulus in an attempt to recharge the slow growing EU(European Union) economy. An OPEC output agreement on crude failed because Iran refused to agree to a new Saudi […]
Iceland: Turning Against Foreign Investment
The legislature of Iceland has decided that foreign investment is no longer paramount to the development and prosperity of the island country. On May 22 of this year, the Parliament passed a new law concerning government bonds that are coming due. The aim of officials in Iceland is to prevent the domestic economy worth $16.7 billion USD (United States Dollar) from being overwhelmed from the massive inflow of capital. Although Iceland is a rather small country with just 327,386 inhabitants, it has […]
Weekly Market Review & Target Fills May Week 4
The finance ministers and central bankers from the seven largest advanced economies (G7) met in Japan over the weekend discussing a wide range of global issues that included, the Brexit, crude oil prices, financial regulation, cybersecurity, monetary policy, tax evasion and global growth. The meeting adjourned with the participants all calling for more efforts towards growth. There was an agreement that a mix of fiscal, monetary, and structural policies would be needed. However, it was decided that each country would enact plans to […]
Austria Is A Bellwether For European Politics
The presidential election this past Sunday was going to change politics not only in Austria, but throughout the European Union. The stage for this was already set in April, when the mainstream parties of Austria were relegated to the third and fourth place status in the preliminary round election. Economic uncertainty and the deluge of migrants into the country, drove voters away from the traditional political parties. The country has become a bellwether for the direction in European politics. Events in Austria […]
Weekly Market Review & Target Fills May Week 3
The finance ministers and central bankers from the 7 largest advanced economies (G7) are meeting in Japan to discuss a wide range of global issues that will include, the Brexit, crude oil prices, financial regulation, cybersecurity, monetary policy, tax evasion and global growth. The week began with a surge in oil prices on news that Goldman Sachs was predicting higher prices. The American based investment firm was calling for $50.00 USD (United States Dollar) by the end of 2016. The reassessment was […]
The Philippines Elect An Outsider In President Rodrigo Duterte
Rodrigo Duterte known locally as The Punisher has been elected president of the Philippines after competitors dropped out of the race to succeed outgoing President Benigno Aquino III. The results of May 09th election have made him the unofficial winner, in that all the ballots have not been tallied yet. Although investors remain apprehensive upon his victory, voters have become restive with a political system that is corrupt and run by coterie of elites. The Philippines have experienced rapid economic growth under […]
Weekly Market Review & Target Fills May Week 2
The week began with global equities and markets mostly up, helped by some good corporate earnings, a surge in oil prices and news that Japan was willing to devalue the yen. As the week progressed the markets would then reverse as investors assess various economic indicators. The American New York Stock Exchange will decline for the third consecutive week. The big business news was the surge in oil prices that was caused by a huge wildfire in Alberta Canada. The blaze would […]
Democracy In Turkey At Risk With Erdogan Power Grab
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has become the most powerful political leader in Turkey since the introduction of a multiparty democracy in 1950. He consolidated his power further by insisting on the resignation of the Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu earlier this month. President Erdogan has been coalescing his power base and dominating Turkey, since he himself became Prime Minister in 2003. Turkey has become far more authoritarian in recent years. President Erdogan has attempted to deal with dissent by detaining and intimidating […]