Last weekend’s agreement notwithstanding, international cooperation over oil output stands to be short-lived as the short- and medium-term battles for market share intensify. Over the course of the Easter weekend US President Donald Trump succeeded in brokering a deal between Russia and Saudi Arabia which seemingly brought to an end the impasse in the Opec+ group over oil ou
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The battle against the coronavirus is above all a public health crisis. Needless to say, the response to the crisis is having enormous economic repercussions. Some countries have imposed sweeping shutdown and isolation measures to contain the spread. As a result, businesses are closing and unemployment is soaring. Countries that are net exporters of oil and gas will perhaps
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The Great Lockdown The COVID-19 pandemic is inflicting high and rising human costs worldwide, and the necessary protection measures are severely impacting economic activity. As a result of the pandemic, the global economy is projected to contract sharply by –3 percent in 2020, much worse than during the 2008–09 financial crisis. In a baseline scenario--which assumes that the p
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If Kadhimi’s nomination goes through, it would be good news for Iraq, but Washington’s troubled relationship with Baghdad still needs a radical strategic reset. On April 9, Iraqi prime minister-designate Adnan al-Zurfi withdrew from his short campaign to form a cabinet after coming under pressure to step aside. Taking his place is intelligence chief Mustafa al-Kadhimi, a can
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The Coronavirus outbreak is a sudden shock to the world that made and deepened economic crisis. However, an efficient government does not only increase its capacity to challenge the expected and unexpected events, it should rather be able to act fast. To discuss this, I will focus on water crisis in Iraq. In simple terms, economic shock refers to any imbalances bet
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