Iran Crashes OPEC Party, Counting on Sanctions Relief

Special Economic Analysis
by Peter Warburton, PhD

After more than two years of stagnation and political frustration, the UK economy has surprised many with its 2013 upturn, which has made it the fastest-growing G-7 economy in the July-September quarter. But concerns remain that the economy is unbalanced, with investment spending down and government spending rising sharply.

Despite the billions spent on counternarcotics initiatives, the Afghan opium harvest is reaching historic highs as U.S. and NATO forces plan to withdraw. A pending deal could keep some American forces in the restive country for another decade, but Afghan drug production poses a substantial obstacle to stabilizing the country, since the Taliban are likely to use drug money to finance their efforts to regain power.

Popular protests in Bulgaria are giving the newly elected socialist government no opportunities to revive the country’s beat-up and backward economy, which has been hit hard by the euro crisis. A deep-rooted culture of corruption risks stripping the government of any legitimacy. The economy will suffer the consequences.

The U.S. government’s decision last week to blacklist the radical Islamist group Boko Haram is likely to aid the Nigerian government’s efforts to stop the violence that has ravaged the impoverished yet oil-rich West African nation over the past four years. Nigeria needs all the help it can get to stop Boko Haram from further undermining the security of West Africa.

Following cues from the United States and Japan, Europe’s central bank has moved to a record-low interest rate in a bid to resuscitate the eurozone economy. Yet economists warn that a rate cut alone might not be enough to stave off disaster and that the European Central Bank should consider adding unconventional measures already being used in Washington and Tokyo.