The global financial crisis has shifted eastward, and the economies of central and eastern Europe are being ravaged by it. The question now is whether western banks with big CEE businesses will maintain them, or cut their losses. If they choose the latter, we may see a resurgence of xenophobic nationalism in eastern Europe. Julian Evans reports.  

Four of the top professionals in emerging markets private equity recently held a lively debate at PEI’s emerging markets forum in London, on the proposition ‘This house believes the western credit crisis is good for emerging markets private equity’.

Libya remains a puzzle. It has been in the headlines a lot recently, but it is no easier to assess, whether you are a potential investor or a potential exporter. Oliver Miles, former British ambassador to Libya, reports back from his recent visit to the country.

The Russian stock market has lost more than any market this year.  Now the real economy is being affected too.

The EBRD has been given new relevance by the economic crisis in eastern Europe. But is its free market philosophy out of date?

With breathtaking speed, Ukraine has gone from being one of Europe’s fastest-growing economies to a basket case. Is the US$16bn IMF bail-out enough to save it? Geoffrey Smith reports from Kiev.

Ukraine has come down to earth with an almighty bang – a textbook ‘hard landing’ that could be studied for years to come in universities and business schools as to how emerging market economies crash.

Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, former prime minister of Poland and the CEO of its second biggest bank, Bank Pekao, tells emeafinance his country is weathering the financial crisis relatively well.

The exponential growth shown by Angola’s financial sector in the post-civil war years is set to attain fresh heights, writes Kevin Godier

Angola, once one of the poorest countries in Africa, had the fastest-growing economy in the continent in 2007. Its economy has grown by an average of 10.6% annually for the past five years. 

Nassim Nicholas Taleb has over 20 years’ experience as a quant analyst and options trader at UBS, Credit Suisse, BNP Paribas and elsewhere. He is now advisor to Universa Investments, a hedge fund that is up 115% in the last two years.
He is also a world-famous philosopher, and author of the best-selling book, Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, which among other achievements predicted the collapse of Fannie Mae.  A Black Swan event is an event deemed highly improbable (like the probability of a swan being black), which can still occur and have an enormous impact on a system or market.  This is a talk he gave at the Hedge Funds World Conference in Zurich in December.
 

The IMF had its busiest month ever in November, lending a record US$41bn. But who will bail it out if it runs out of cash?

In January 2008, the IMF’s managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, sent out a confidential document to the fund’s 2,400 full-time staff, telling them to get ready for the axe.
The memo said the staff should prepare for the “trauma” of sizeable downsizing, with around a sixth of the staff to be fired, and the staff budget of the fund to be reduced by US$100mn. “This is not a good time for staff”, the memo read. “Their expectation of a full career at the fund in exchange for their unflinching dedication and loyalty is in question.”
 

Hedge funds had their worst year ever in 2008, and the market could halve in size by the end of Q1 2009. But some funds will emerge stronger from the carnage writes Donald Twain.

Stock exchanges all over the world are facing system breakdowns due to intense volatility and record volumes of trading. Will any of them emerge from the crisis in a competitive position? Liz Salecka reports.