Frontier Markets

Iran Sidelines Itself on Global Stage

26 May 2020
Tehran’s ability to project its stature across the Middle East has been severely curtailed in recent months because of the economic collapse at home. Most analysts expected to see a newly-assertive Iran in the wake of the US assassination of General Soleimani last…
Frontier Markets

Washington Retreats, Havana Endures

13 July 2019
This Is Cuba is the perfect introduction to modern-day Cuba. David Ariosto—who reported on-the-ground for CNN for a year-and a half and traveled to Cuba from the US for many more years—brings humanity to an island that is either shrouded in romance by nostalgists or…
Frontier Markets

How Should Investors Frame Kandy Riots?

12 March 2018
Some analysts dismiss the ethnic attacks in Sri Lanka last week as a purely domestic affair. Globalists should be less cavalier. The tragedy is a sobering reflection on our collective failures; it also is a jarring reminder of headline-grabbing violence elsewhere in the…
Frontier Markets

Startup Scene in Vietnam Turns Chaotic

30 January 2018
The entire country of Vietnam is fast-transforming itself into the Silicon Valley of Southeast Asia. One reason is rapid economic growth; another is the youthful population. Those fundamentals are coalescing into venture anarchy as the volume of startups overwhelms the…
Frontier Markets

Caribbean Passport Programs Hit Speed Bump

8 July 2017
Many nations have citizenship-by-investment policies to entice deep pockets, but Caribbean nations have been under fire for their relatively low hurdles. The tiny island of Dominica, for example, offers its passport to globetrotters for $100,000. While these policies have…
Frontier Markets

Cuba Lingers at Commercial Sideline

23 March 2017
Greater economic opportunity is top-of-mind for most Cubans. That point is to be expected, but it was affirmed in a rare public-opinion survey completed last year by a group from University of Chicago. The troublesome finding is that only three-in-ten Cubans think that the…
Frontier Markets

Kenyan Stock-Market Rout Points to Startup Scene

15 March 2017
Nairobi-traded equities trail in the global league table. Over the past year alone, the stock market is down more than 13% in US dollar terms. Some names are tempted to buy ravaged assets. Yet the opportunity cost may be too great to act on those instincts, at least for…