Central & Eastern Europe Archives

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Banking

SEPA Compliant: To Be Or Not To Be?

SPECIAL REPORT By Anita Hawser To be or not to be? Compliant, that is. Apparently, the answer is it doesn’t matter—at least not yet. Just a few weeks before the February 1 SEPA deadline came to pass, the ...

Features

Politics in Turkey Turn Downright Byzantine

Demo site: Protestors in Istanbul’s Taksim Square last summer ( Photo: Fleshstorm ) Turkey, the onetime sick man of Europe,...

Country Report

Bring On The New Russia

COUNTRY REPORT By Justin Keay As investors query what will happen in Russia’s economy over the near term, the long-term outlook is improving as the business environment is liberalized. Russia will be at the center of world ...

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

Foreign Exchange: Dollar Days

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS By Gordon Platt Despite the euro’s surprisingly strong showing in 2013, analysts expect the dollar to advance against most major currencies this year. The euro won’t be allowed to continue to appreciate, or it will ...

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

Poland: Longtime Finance Minister Axed

NEWSMAKERS By Justin Keay There were few raised eyebrows when Poland’s premier Donald Tusk replaced his longtime Finance minister Jacek Rostowski with 38-year-old Mateusz Szczurek in a major cabinet reshuffle on November 20. Disagreements between Tusk and Rostowski ...

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

Ukraines Startling About-Face

FRONTIER MARKETS REPORT By Dan Keeler Ukraine’s decision to turn its back on Western Europe has seriously undermined its near-term appeal, but long-term opportunities remain. Perhaps more than any other country in Europe, Ukraine is torn between ...

Economics, Policy & Regulation

An Odd Twist In The Geopolitics Of Gas

Global energy markets are attending closely to recent natural gas discoveries in the eastern Mediterranean and their implications for the availability and pricing of energy resources.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

Editor’s Letter: The New Geography

There is a new definition of the emerging markets and their characteristics that confutes many old and accepted axioms; for example, the idea that the cost of labor is cheaper in developing countries, or that governance is more advanced and regulations are more enforced in developed countries.

Economics, Policy & Regulation

Europe: Dark Clouds Down South

While Central Europe appears to be recovering from the effects of the global economic downturn, Southeastern Europe is in for a rougher ride.

Economics, Policy & Regulation

Georgia: Young Guns Now Riding Herd

Over the past year, Georgia has undergone a major political face-lift. Since the Georgian Dream coalition, led by billionaire businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili, won parliamentary elections in October 2012, a cadre of relatively young and inexperienced politicians has risen to the government’s top posts.

Economics, Policy & Regulation

Slovenia Prospers Against The Odds

Despite recurrent anti-government protests and corruption scandals, Slovenia, the tiny Adriatic republic of just over two million, ranks as the 24th-most-prosperous country in the world, according to the annual Legatum Institute Prosperity Index, which ranks 142 countries by criteria like entrepreneurship and opportunity and personal freedom as well as economy.

Banking

Special Report: Turkish Banking

The Turkish banking sector’s prospects are bright, driven by innovation and torrid credit expansion. Mergers and acquisitions remain vibrant, and the nation’s mobile technology provides a shining global example. But the financial tea leaves aren’t altogether reassuring.