Latest Updates

Western allies sending Ukraine arms, but not Germany

With the fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine mounting, many of its allies have ramped up arms deliveries to the embattled nation – but not all.

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Outbreak of calm grips Ukraine

The mood in the Ukrainian capital remains calm, despite the build up of Russian troops on the border, bomb threats in schools in Kyiv and the US and UK embassies evacuating their staff.

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ASH: Russia escalation cost/benefit

Putin has moved to escalate tensions with Ukraine, putting a huge and unprecedented Russian military force on its Western border and also launching a concerted “coercive” diplomatic effort to sketch out new red lines for Nato.

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All eyes fall on Nazarbayev clan’s extraordinary wealth as Kazakhstan’s Tokayev asserts authority by targeting super rich

Across three decades fabulous riches were secured at home and offshore in oil, gas, metals, banking and luxury property.

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MOSCOW BLOG: Nato showdown – Geneva III

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have just sat down for the third meeting in Geneva for what is probably the last round of meetings in the first phase of the Ukraine crisis.

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UniCredit's hopes of acquiring Russia's Otkritie Bank marred by geopolitical tensions

UniCredit is considering a takeover of Russia's Otkritie Bank, but rising geopolitical tensions coupled with an increasingly competitive financial environment could jeopardise the plan.

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Ukraine crisis: money becomes a weapon

Money has become a weapon in the expanding crisis over Russia’s demands for a halt to Nato’s eastern expansion. In the Cold War Russia and the West were ideologically opposed. Now both are capitalist, where money offers leverage over Russia.

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US warns Belarus to keep its commitment to neutrality

US warns Belarus to keep its commitment to neutrality in wake of increasing Russian military presence along the Belarus-Ukraine border.

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US Secretary of State Blinken in Kyiv, warns Russia could attack “at very short notice”

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, announced America's support for Ukraine and warned Russia could attack “at very short notice” amidst the Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s borders

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Croatian president clashes with government over Russia-Ukraine standoff

Explosion at Albanian Football Federation head’s home after voting scandal

Kosovo defends tough COVID-19 rules that sparked complaints from neighbours

Croatian president clashes with government over Russia-Ukraine standoff

Ministers refute President Zoran Milanovic’s claim that troops will be withdrawn in case of an escalation of the conflict.

Explosion at Albanian Football Federation head’s home after voting scandal

FShF head Armand Duka is in a very public conflict with Tirana mayor Erion Veliaj, who has made accusations of corruption and pledged to "control football" in a secret recording.

Kosovo defends tough COVID-19 rules that sparked complaints from neighbours

Officials from Albania and North Macedonia say Pristina’s new rules requiring booster jab or PCR test for entry to the country hinder freedom of movement in the region.

News

Slovak parliament likely to approve defence agreement with the US

President adds statement to DCA to reassure MPs but opposition still demands referral to Constitutional Court.

Westinghouse corrals Polish companies to work on nuclear power plant

Westinghouse is one of three companies looking to build four to six reactors by the mid-2040s in order to reduce the carbon intensity of electricity generation.

Turkey exempts pharma, meat and milk industries from gas cuts but country's energy crisis snowballing

Rolling power restrictions applied to factories. Situation worse than what was seen during Turkish balance of payments crisis at end of 1970s.

Baltics to send weapons to Ukraine as fears of Russian invasion rise

Estonia will send Javelin anti-armour missiles, while Latvia and Lithuania will send Stinger antiaircraft missiles.

Komarek's lottery operator Allwyn Entertainment to enter NYSE

Czech billionaire's lottery company expected to be valued at around $9.3bn.

Slovak parliament likely to approve defence agreement with the US

16 hours ago

Westinghouse corrals Polish companies to work on nuclear power plant

16 hours ago

Turkey exempts pharma, meat and milk industries from gas cuts but country's energy crisis snowballing

1 day ago

Baltics to send weapons to Ukraine as fears of Russian invasion rise

1 day ago

Komarek's lottery operator Allwyn Entertainment to enter NYSE

1 day ago

More News

Tech

Illegal crypto farm busted as government urges Albanians to save power

Police estimated that the group had spent around €1mn to set up two crypto labs, where they seized hundreds of devices.

Georgia’s mountainous cryptocurrency problem

The legendary mountain region of Svaneti has turned into a cryptocurrency mint, resulting in chronic electricity shortages.

Russian is the social-media language of choice for Ukrainians

Data collected on Instagram shows that 50% of Ukrainian users post in Russian, 46% in Ukrainian, and 4% in English, researcher Sven Etienne Peterson reported in a Tweet on January 14.

Qualcomm acquires Ukraine-born Augmented Pixels to beef up AR/VR development capacities

US tech giant Qualcomm has acquired Augmented Pixels, a Ukrainian-founded AR/VR software developer now headquartered in California. The news was reported by the Ukrainian media based on exchanges with Augmented Pixels representatives.

Founded in Russia 11 years ago, the Miro visual collaboration software startup is now valued at $17.5bn

Miro, a US enterprise software publisher with Russian roots, announced yesterday a $400mn Series C round. The deal brought the company – known as RealtimeBoard when it was founded in Russia back in 2011 – to an astounding $17.5bn valuation.

Illegal crypto farm busted as government urges Albanians to save power

2 days ago

Georgia’s mountainous cryptocurrency problem

2 days ago

Russian is the social-media language of choice for Ukrainians

6 days ago

Qualcomm acquires Ukraine-born Augmented Pixels to beef up AR/VR development capacities

7 days ago

Founded in Russia 11 years ago, the Miro visual collaboration software startup is now valued at $17.5bn

11 days ago

More Tech

Opinion

HOMANS: Former President Petro Poroshenko in the dock (sort of)

Today Poroshenko managed to make a mockery of the proceedings against him, without even being arrested or being put on trial.

RIMMER: Turkey - Let nothing astonish you

Given the regularity with which they manifest, it’s astonishing the Turkish language has no phrase equivalent to ‘nightmare scenario’. They should think about coining one, sooner rather than later, though, because another one is looming.

FPRI BMB Ukraine: Ukraine’s military better at fighting

In seven years of war, the Ukrainian army has got better at fighting Russian-backed separatists despite structural problems. At the time of the Russian invasion in 2014, the Ukrainian army had only 120,900 active members. Now it has 250,000.

Geneva summit talks present no obstacles to Moscow’s developing Ukraine isolation strategy

Moscow's Ukraine strategy proceeds smoothly at Geneva Summit.

ASH: Putin is preparing for war

I have certainly put myself out there as having the most hawkish view on Russia (compared to the street consensus), but I still find it difficult to see anything but escalation by Russia with Ukraine from the current postures.

HOMANS: Former President Petro Poroshenko in the dock (sort of)

7 days ago

RIMMER: Turkey - Let nothing astonish you

7 days ago

FPRI BMB Ukraine: Ukraine’s military better at fighting

8 days ago

Geneva summit talks present no obstacles to Moscow’s developing Ukraine isolation strategy

12 days ago

ASH: Putin is preparing for war

12 days ago

More Opinion

Data

Polish retail sales ease growth to 8% y/y in December

December figures may point to the high inflation beginning to subdue consumption or to households holding back spending after increased spending in November.

Polish industrial production growth surges to 16.7% y/y in December

The expansion shot up well above the consensus line of 13% y/y.

Poland’s PPI growth accelerates to 14.2% y/y in December

The PPI climbed to the highest point since the late 1990s.

Georgia’s trade deficit up 24% y/y in 2021

Trade gap widened by 24% y/y to $5.83bn – which represents nearly one third of the estimated GDP last year.

Growth of output prices in Slovenia accelerates to 10.6% y/y in December

The producer price index (PPI) started to increase rapidly at the beginning of 2021.

Polish retail sales ease growth to 8% y/y in December

16 hours ago

Polish industrial production growth surges to 16.7% y/y in December

1 day ago

Poland’s PPI growth accelerates to 14.2% y/y in December

1 day ago

Georgia’s trade deficit up 24% y/y in 2021

1 day ago

Growth of output prices in Slovenia accelerates to 10.6% y/y in December

2 days ago

More Data

Features

Who needs a war?

Russia increases its military presence in Belarus as tensions rise with Ukraine. But whose interests will guide the Belarusian regime’s actions?

Primark to launch in Romania as it pursues CEE expansion

As pandemic's impact on retail sector recedes, Primark continues CEE expansion with plans to open new stores in Poland and Slovakia as well as Romania.

OUTLOOK: 2022 Serbia

President Aleksandar Vucic and the ruling SNS to be put to the test in election year.

OUTLOOK: 2022 Albania

Construction and tourism support robust recovery from coronacrisis.

OUTLOOK: 2022 Bulgaria

A year of reform lies ahead after Bulgaria finally gets a new government.

Who needs a war?

16 hours ago

Primark to launch in Romania as it pursues CEE expansion

23 hours ago

OUTLOOK: 2022 Serbia

5 days ago

OUTLOOK: 2022 Albania

5 days ago

OUTLOOK: 2022 Bulgaria

6 days ago

More Features

Blogs

BALKAN BLOG: Cancelled $2.4bn Rio Tinto project linked to Djokovic deportation

The Serbian government revoked licences for Rio Tinto’s massive lithium project just days after Australia deported Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic. But the reasons for cancelling the project have more to do with domestic politics.

ISTANBUL BLOG: Erdogan holds rates. Don’t get excited

The devil remains in the detail. Regime is not simply weak in the economics, it is also cold to the accounting.

BALKAN BLOG: Attempt to storm Bulgarian parliament by self-styled ‘nazguls’ inspires memes and mockery

Far-right anti-vaxxer party whose MPs got the jab gets social media pasting.

MOSCOW BLOG: Cuban missile crisis II

The Nato expansion talks are a bust as the West has made it clear that it will not abandon its “open door” policy to Ukraine, so the Kremlin counters with suggesting it might put missiles on Cuba again.

MOSCOW BLOG: The Nato talks will fail

I think the Nato talks are actually very simple. Russia doesn't want any Nato troops or weapons in Ukraine in the same way that JFK didn't want Soviet missiles in Cuba. But not realising this means that the current Nato talks will fail.

BALKAN BLOG: Cancelled $2.4bn Rio Tinto project linked to Djokovic deportation

15 hours ago

ISTANBUL BLOG: Erdogan holds rates. Don’t get excited

5 days ago

BALKAN BLOG: Attempt to storm Bulgarian parliament by self-styled ‘nazguls’ inspires memes and mockery

10 days ago

MOSCOW BLOG: Cuban missile crisis II

11 days ago

MOSCOW BLOG: The Nato talks will fail

12 days ago

More Blogs

bneGREEN

Major Croatian energy companies turn to renewables

Oil and gas group INA and state oil pipeline operator Janaf have announced new commitments to renewable energy generation as the green transition gets underway in the country.

bneGREEN: Usmanov pushes sustainable copper for cleantech

Future demand for copper will increase greatly as new, greener technologies make use of the metal's unique properties. In an article published by the World Economic Forum, billionaire Alisher Usmanov made the case for increased investment in copper.

#bneGREEN: Czech real estate group CPI issues CEE's first sustainability-linked bonds in real estate

The sustainability-linked bond issue worth €700mn has an annual coupon of 1.75%.

bneGREEN: Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change urges EU to keep gas out of green taxonomy

A group of sustainable investors has urged the EU to exclude gas from the new the EU Taxonomy green investment classification system.

bneGREEN: NDCs need to be rapidly improved to get near 1.5°C target

Current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are nowhere near enough to keep global warming within the 1.5°C target

Major Croatian energy companies turn to renewables

2 days ago

bneGREEN: Usmanov pushes sustainable copper for cleantech

5 days ago

#bneGREEN: Czech real estate group CPI issues CEE's first sustainability-linked bonds in real estate

5 days ago

bneGREEN: Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change urges EU to keep gas out of green taxonomy

10 days ago

bneGREEN: NDCs need to be rapidly improved to get near 1.5°C target

13 days ago

More bneGREEN

Latest Updates

News

President adds statement to DCA to reassure MPs but opposition still demands referral to Constitutional Court.

Westinghouse is one of three companies looking to build four to six reactors by the mid-2040s in order to reduce the carbon intensity of electricity generation.

Rolling power restrictions applied to factories. Situation worse than what was seen during Turkish balance of payments crisis at end of 1970s.

Estonia will send Javelin anti-armour missiles, while Latvia and Lithuania will send Stinger antiaircraft missiles.

Czech billionaire's lottery company expected to be valued at around $9.3bn.

Tech

Police estimated that the group had spent around €1mn to set up two crypto labs, where they seized hundreds of devices.

The legendary mountain region of Svaneti has turned into a cryptocurrency mint, resulting in chronic electricity shortages.

Data collected on Instagram shows that 50% of Ukrainian users post in Russian, 46% in Ukrainian, and 4% in English, researcher Sven Etienne Peterson reported in a Tweet on January 14.

US tech giant Qualcomm has acquired Augmented Pixels, a Ukrainian-founded AR/VR software developer now headquartered in California. The news was reported by the Ukrainian media based on exchanges with Augmented Pixels representatives.

Miro, a US enterprise software publisher with Russian roots, announced yesterday a $400mn Series C round. The deal brought the company – known as RealtimeBoard when it was founded in Russia back in 2011 – to an astounding $17.5bn valuation.

Opinion

Today Poroshenko managed to make a mockery of the proceedings against him, without even being arrested or being put on trial.

Given the regularity with which they manifest, it’s astonishing the Turkish language has no phrase equivalent to ‘nightmare scenario’. They should think about coining one, sooner rather than later, though, because another one is looming.

In seven years of war, the Ukrainian army has got better at fighting Russian-backed separatists despite structural problems. At the time of the Russian invasion in 2014, the Ukrainian army had only 120,900 active members. Now it has 250,000.

Moscow's Ukraine strategy proceeds smoothly at Geneva Summit.

I have certainly put myself out there as having the most hawkish view on Russia (compared to the street consensus), but I still find it difficult to see anything but escalation by Russia with Ukraine from the current postures.

Data

December figures may point to the high inflation beginning to subdue consumption or to households holding back spending after increased spending in November.

The expansion shot up well above the consensus line of 13% y/y.

The PPI climbed to the highest point since the late 1990s.

Trade gap widened by 24% y/y to $5.83bn – which represents nearly one third of the estimated GDP last year.

The producer price index (PPI) started to increase rapidly at the beginning of 2021.

Features

Russia increases its military presence in Belarus as tensions rise with Ukraine. But whose interests will guide the Belarusian regime’s actions?

As pandemic's impact on retail sector recedes, Primark continues CEE expansion with plans to open new stores in Poland and Slovakia as well as Romania.

President Aleksandar Vucic and the ruling SNS to be put to the test in election year.

Construction and tourism support robust recovery from coronacrisis.

A year of reform lies ahead after Bulgaria finally gets a new government.

Blogs

The Serbian government revoked licences for Rio Tinto’s massive lithium project just days after Australia deported Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic. But the reasons for cancelling the project have more to do with domestic politics.

The devil remains in the detail. Regime is not simply weak in the economics, it is also cold to the accounting.

Far-right anti-vaxxer party whose MPs got the jab gets social media pasting.

The Nato expansion talks are a bust as the West has made it clear that it will not abandon its “open door” policy to Ukraine, so the Kremlin counters with suggesting it might put missiles on Cuba again.

I think the Nato talks are actually very simple. Russia doesn't want any Nato troops or weapons in Ukraine in the same way that JFK didn't want Soviet missiles in Cuba. But not realising this means that the current Nato talks will fail.

bneGREEN

Oil and gas group INA and state oil pipeline operator Janaf have announced new commitments to renewable energy generation as the green transition gets underway in the country.

Future demand for copper will increase greatly as new, greener technologies make use of the metal's unique properties. In an article published by the World Economic Forum, billionaire Alisher Usmanov made the case for increased investment in copper.

The sustainability-linked bond issue worth €700mn has an annual coupon of 1.75%.

A group of sustainable investors has urged the EU to exclude gas from the new the EU Taxonomy green investment classification system.

Current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are nowhere near enough to keep global warming within the 1.5°C target

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Yesterday(14/01/2022) Editor in Chief, Ben Aris was on Zoom/YouTube for a discussion with Charles Robertson, the head of rese....

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