Saudi Arabia 2030: Vision Versus Reality

4 May 2108 In April 2016, Saudi Crown Prince (Deputy at the time) Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) announced his Saudi Arabia 2030 economic strategy.  The ambitious plan has two major objectives.  First of all, the collapse in oil prices after 2014 requires a major overhaul of Saudi fiscal policy to reduce the huge budget deficit.  [...]

South Africa: Dawn of a New Era?

27 May 2018 Financial markets have celebrated the selection of Cyril Ramaphosa as leader of the ANC in December 2017, and his subsequent election as the Republic's president.  The beleaguered Rand (ZAR), for example, has rallied over 20% in the past four months.  Even the rating agencies have jumped on the band wagon.  Both Fitch [...]

EM Investing: Harder than it Used to Be!

1 March 2018 Emerging Market investing is a lot more complicated than it used to be -- and not just because it is difficult to replicate last year's stellar performance.  Prior to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), EM's superior growth prospects garnered investors' attention.  In addition, EM growth and inflation cycles tended to be in [...]