Global Risk Insights's Contributions

Recent remarks by ECB President Mario Draghi have promised to tackle the near-recession level of activity plaguing the Eurozone. But while words have come often, there has been far less action from the central banking system...

It came as a shock to most, and certainly to markets, when Greek PM Antonis Samaras announced that presidential elections would take place on December 17th rather than in March 2015. Athens benchmark stock index fell 12.8 percent on Tuesday after the announcement late Monday...

The way events are lining up, 2015 will be the Year of Volatility. Markets will be waiting for major decisions from the world’s central banks and uncertainties in macro and commodity markets to broach. Here are 6 reasons volatility is poised to make a comeback.

Western sanctions and falling oil prices have cost Russia over $160 billion and have been “catastrophic” for the Russian economy. Despite this, the Russian leadership is unlikely to alter its provocative foreign policy.

As oil prices continue to fall, OPEC faces a dilemma at its meeting in Vienna on 27 November. Members must decide between decreasing production that will support the oil prices but also consequently the US shale oil industry, and...

The latest foreign exchange fixing (forex) scandal, which led to a $4.3 billion bank settlement with American, British, and Swiss regulators reinforces the difficulties of effectively regulating the financial markets.

Countries across Africa and Latin America have expressed a desire to begin or expand the sale of government bonds. Markets seem willing to take them up on their offer.

Construction on the Nicaragua canal is set to start in December. The government has proclaimed it to be an economic panacea.

Economies in the UK and US are bright spots in the developed world, but not quite bright enough to instill confidence. If there has been one trend across the developed world that has taken hold in the last six months, it is this...

It would be logical to think that the emergence of ISIL would have increased oil prices, but Brent crude oil prices have plummeted since July. Having now traded as low as $83 per barrel, oil is at its lowest price since 2012.

The ongoing tax inversion debate in the US can be summed up in two phrases: “patriotic duty” and “competitive for business.” But after Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew released new tax rules to govern tax inversions, it became clear that tax inversions are really about something else.

Financial regulation in the US today would have been unrecognizable six years ago when Lehman Brothers had just been liquidated and AIG was bailed out. The Dodd-Frank Act, along with the Basel Accords, has fundamentally changed how financial institutions treat risk...

Argentina’s recent default has renewed interest in sovereign debt restructuring. And while developed countries still oppose the idea, placing it under the IMF may ease negotiations. Sovereign debt – the debt owed by countries to others, whether private or public...

Water is the single most important resource on the planet but human consumption is already beginning to outpace growth of the global water supply. As a result, tensions over shared water resources could give rise to conflict.

A referendum on Scotland’s independence, due to be held next week, could see Scotland leaving the union after 300 years of membership. Fiercely contested between the pro-independence campaign of Scotland’s nationalist party...

As Russia’s direct incursion in Ukraine’s Southeast elevates the conflict to a new and more dangerous level, the clash in the Eastern Europe is nowhere near its conclusion. As a result, Washington and Brussels may impose further sanctions on Russia, with potentially dire effects.

Ukraine is on the road to re-establishing its control of the East, but serious issues still remain, making it vulnerable to Moscow’s wishes. On August 4th, Ukrainian forces began operations to...

China’s growing debt-to-GDP ratio raises concerns for investors. Investment in traditional pollution-heavy and overcapacity-ridden industries is strong, despite many policy tools that help finance more lucrative sectors.

The deadly Ebola virus has continued to spread across West Africa, with dire secondary effects on the affected countries’ economies.

Of all the defaults through Argentina’s history, the one on august 3rd 2014 is the strangest to date. Moreover, its implications could spill over to the rest of global markets.