Economy

A rarely discussed but high impact trend that seems to have been amplified by the COVID-19 virus is affecting investment in countries that have traditionally attracted investors interested in minerals and rare earth materials.   A process that is open to corrupt parliaments, dictators and authoritarian governments has long been ...

Cipher Brief expert Robert Dannenberg is a 24-year veteran of the CIA, where he served in several senior leadership positions, including chief of operations for the Counterterrorism Center, chief of the Central Eurasia Division and chief of the CIA’s Information Operations Center.  Post CIA, he worked as Chief of Global ...

  Bottom Line Up Front Over the weekend, Houthi rebels launched a drone attack against Saudi Arabia, targeting the Saudi Aramco crude stabilization facility in Abqaiq and an oil field at Hijra Khurais with ten drones. Despite Saudi Arabia spending untold sums on missile defense, Houthi-operated drones have been able ...

The Cipher Brief spoke with Representative Will Hurd, R-Tex., about what more the U.S. can do to improve security and the economy in Afghanistan. Hurd believes that an improved Afghan Air Force and more Afghan Special Forces “would really put the Taliban on the run.” As well, Hurd says, the ...

In the wake of the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut its forecasts for global economic growth and warns that Brexit has brought a new wave of uncertainty to the world stage. The IMF’s World Economic Outlook Update, released Tuesday, cuts ...

In Venezuela, everything is running out.  Food, electricity, and basic necessities like toilet paper are scarce.  Foreign reserves have been depleted, and the government is frantically selling its gold. And, as the country is running out of money and resources, President Nicolás Maduro is running out of time.  Pressure is ...

After three decades of unprecedented economic growth, China must manage a volatile stock market, a slowing economy, and increasing criticism both at home and abroad at its handling of the economic crisis.  Here are the four things you need to know about the current situation: 1. The slowdown in China’s ...

Until recently, the widely accepted international narrative about China was that it was a country on a roll  - characterized by years of remarkable economic growth, increasing global clout, and a leadership with a deft touch in managing both a booming economy and the country’s international rise. Events of the ...

Going into the third year at the helm of the world’s second biggest economy, Chinese leader Xi Jinping faces perhaps the most daunting task of any world leader, aggravated by the recent downturn in the economy. Markets and many foreign observers have been extraordinarily slow in picking up the fact ...