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Persian Gulf to Wall Street - 2007-09-18
Something big is brewing along the Persian Gulf, and it's not what you might expect. Is Iran going to bomb us? Not likely. Will Iraqis beat their swords into plowshares in 2008? Ha. This past weekend, in Philadelphia, a select group of investors got the scoop.

Real Estate and Remittances - 2007-09-13
Earlier this year I wrote about the $300 billion-per-year international remittance industry, the channel by which the bulk of some countries' gross national product is generated. How will new attempts to discourage Latin American migrant workers and nationwide housing woes affect the flow of funds in the Americas?

Brazil's Hot Stock Market - 2007-08-28
The hottest spot in Brazil isn't the Copacabana beach. It's not the Sambadrome built for Carnival parades or the violent streets of the hillside favelas. It's the stock exchange.

It's a Shoo-In - 2007-08-27
The current economic debate really boils down to one essential question: "Will there be a recession?" To me, the question has about as much vitality as debating whether Roger Clemens will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. (With over 300 wins and more strikeouts than any other pitcher besides Nolan Ryan, the Rocket is a sure thing for Cooperstown). Similarly, a recession is not a question of "if" but merely of "when."

Markets of the Rising Sun - 2007-08-21
It's a world where Wednesday night's news from Asia told me to expect a Thursday slide on Wall Street, but it took until Monday for Asia to absorb Thursday night's Fed cut. This is not the Twilight Zone, it's the global stock market.

Lenders Take the Jab, Borrowers Take the Knockout - 2007-08-20
The current weakness in domestic markets has recently been magnified overseas as panic spread to foreign investors with exposure to U.S. asset-backed debt. Some commentators point to this reaction in an attempt to disprove the belief that foreign assets offer protection from falling U.S. stocks. I believe such conclusions are premature. Global stock markets will soon decouple from ours, and strong returns overseas will occur even as U.S. stocks slump.

The Best Way to Invest in the Muslim World - 2007-08-14
It's an underdog in emerging Asia and in the Islamic world too. Indonesia has the world's fourth-largest population, and is number one among predominantly Muslim states. Here's why you can't afford to keep your money out of this archipelago.

The Shoddiest Export - 2007-08-10
For years, Americans have been able to pay for enormous trade deficits by exchanging IOUs for imported consumer goods. Unfortunately for foreign creditors, a substantial percentage of those IOUs have recently taken the form of mortgaged backed securities.

Ready to Vacation in North Korea? - 2007-08-07
Few would have dreamed of gallivanting around China during the Cultural Revolution. Now, the country is a tourist hotbed and host of a major tourism industry gathering this year. Could North Korea turn the same corner in a few decades?

It's the Fundamentals, Stupid - 2007-08-06
Amid the recent stock market weakness, the pundits are virtually unanimous in their claims that good underlying economic fundamentals are being trumped by irrational fear.

Israel Biotech Comes to Baltimore - 2007-07-31
I've traveled far and wide to get the scoop on international investing opportunities. Sometimes, though, the story comes to me. Last week I gathered with a cadre of Israeli biotech heavyweights just a few minutes from my Baltimore office.

What a Difference a Week Makes! - 2007-07-27
Last week, as the Dow breached the 14,000 mark for the first time, bullish swagger on Wall Street went into overdrive. Some of the bulls that I'm often pitted against on television used the occasion to specifically heap scorn on my assessment of the U.S. economy and my investment advice.

Sorry Ben, the Buck Stops with You - 2007-07-20
During his testimony before Congress this week, Ben Bernanke didn't hesitate to opine on a number of topics that had very little to do with his mandate as Fed Chairman. The wealth gap, racial factors in income inequality, and the impact of capital gains tax policy were all fair game.

China Bull Market Pauses as Pork Prices Soar - 2007-07-17
In China's big cities, maids are going back to work and casting their day-trading dreams to the wind. The number of new accounts for trading Chinese A-shares (the most basic stock available to retail traders in the Middle Kingdom) is dropping far from recent record highs.

A Worthless Dollar? - 2007-07-13
This week, bond rating agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's finally announced downgrades on billions of dollars of bonds backed by sub-prime mortgages.

Is Arab OPEC Going Green? - 2007-07-10
Recently I told you about a 100 MW solar power project in Abu Dhabi, one of the United Arab Emirates. As one of the top oil and gas producers in the world, the UAE won the geological jackpot. Otherwise, it would be a loose confederation of feudal desert monarchies.

Will Japan Destroy the Yen to Save the Dollar? - 2007-07-09
As the Japanese government continues holding short-term interest rates near zero while printing yen like it is going out of style, getting out of the yen has now replaced pachinko as the national pastime for rank-and-file Japanese.

A Refugee Bull Market in Jordan - 2007-06-26
AMMAN, JORDAN: As we scooted along through dense traffic that is typical of any developing country, my Jordanian host pointed out an Infinity SUV in front of us. "Look," he said as he darted his index finger to the right, "Iraqi license plates."

A Perfect Birthday for a Middle Eastern Bull - 2007-06-20
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL: As the clock struck midnight on June 10, I had just arrived in Amman, Jordan. My local hosts, vibrant young entrepreneurs and rising stars in government investment initiatives, insisted that I have a drink. Sunday brought mixed gifts of inside information, international travel, and little sleep.

Good Money After Bad - 2007-06-15
At a commercial real-estate conference earlier this week, Alan Greenspan downplayed concerns that the Chinese might sell their significant holdings of U.S. Treasuries.

What do Stocks Have to do with the Price of Pork in China? - 2007-06-08
By tripling the tax on brokerage transactions, the Chinese government succeeded, at least temporarily, in restraining the surging Chinese stock market. But my expectation is that the correction will be short-lived. It's not that the Chinese stock market is not a bubble, as it clearly is, only that more air will likely inflate it further before it finally bursts.

The Business of Peace - 2007-06-07
KETURA, ISRAEL: What do you get when you mix an Israeli father and a Jordanian son? A bright idea and a hundred million dollars.

Threats and Opportunities: Israel Knows Both - 2007-06-06
In the same way that the State of Israel was not born into a vacuum, it is essential to put Israel's energy development in a regional context. Today on the Red Sea, I heard European, Jordanian, and of course Israeli perspectives on Israel’s future in the age of Peak Oil.

Pain at the Persian Pump - 2007-05-24
This Tuesday, western news outlets reported the beginning of gasoline rationing in Iran with terse certainty. But the view from Iran is much more complicated, and shows the disarray of oil refining operations in the world's number-three oil producer.

24 Cents an Hour, 70 Hours a Week - 2007-05-23
Fluent in Mandarin, Benjamin Ross has conducted research for several multinational corporations involving migrant workers, cell phones, Internet cafés, and people with disabilities as they pertain to the Chinese market and its 11% annual growth.

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