Situation Reports
BIMP-EAGA: Bridging Middle East and Southeast Asia
ASEAN-Middle East trade connections continue to multiply, with many important discussions now taking place in the political and military spheres as well.
Consumer Confidence Craters in Germany
Geopolitical and domestic concerns continue to mount in Europe’s largest economy, with some commentators even asking: Is this the end of the German development model?
PLA Navy Launches Prototype Drone Carrier
China’s Zhu Hai Yun is the first drone carrier ever launched, marking a potential turning point in the evolving field of ‘drone swarm’ combat. It won’t be the last.
A New Central Asia? Kazakhstan’s Drift from Moscow
A gap is emerging between the hawkish perception of Russia’s nationalist elites and the ground-level reality of Central Asian states drifting away from Moscow.
The Fed Hike Heard around the World
Expect the Fed’s recent 75-basis-point hike to reverberate in central banks around the world, with particularly high stakes for emerging markets.
China: The Winding Road to Zero-COVID
A new outbreak in the Beijing area is the latest blow to China’s ‘dynamic zero-COVID’ strategy, as economic costs from lockdowns and mass testing continue to mount.
A World Remade? Lessons from the Ukraine War
The Ukraine war is producing some bitter lessons for those who believed that global society had moved beyond nation-based geopolitics.
US Natural Gas Prices Hit 14-Year High
It’s a price reckoning that European consumers are already all too familiar with, and now US consumers are starting to feel the pain of high natural gas prices.
Plot Thickens for ECB: Inflation Remains Strong in Spain and Germany
The latest data suggests that price increases have yet to peak in Europe.
China’s Diplomatic Push in the Pacific Stalls
The apparent collapse of a wide-ranging security and economic agreement suggests a triangular arrangement for Pacific nations moving forward.