Reimagining the Refugee Camp

At first sight, the Dadaab refugee camp is nothing more than line after line of mud structures and U.N. tents under a relentless sun. Formed in 1991 to house refugees fleeing Somalia’s civil war, it is now a city of nearly half a million people near Kenya’s eastern border. But unlike most cities, Dadaab has been operated by international organizations for almost twenty-five years — and it shows.

How Low Oil Prices Are Transforming Global Politics In Startling Ways

As 2015 drew to a close, many in the global energy industry were praying that the price of oil would bounce back from the abyss, restoring the petroleum-centric world of the past half-century. All evidence, however, points to a continuing depression in oil prices in 2016 -- one that may, in fact, stretch into the 2020s and beyond. Given the centrality of oil (and oil revenues) in the global power equation, this is bound to translate into a profound shakeup in the political order, with petroleum-producing states from Saudi Arabia to Russia losing both prominence and geopolitical clout.

HAS THE EURO BEEN A FAILURE?

November’s conference, which brought together 50 leading economists, considered whether the euro was a failure. A host of questions were debated. How should the euro be judged? Purely by the fact that it has survived? Or by the fact that is has become a significant international reserve currency? Or by comparing what its proponents said it would do for Europe with what had actually happened? Had the euro helped Europe to address the economic and political challenges facing it? Or had it made it harder to address those challenges, while also creating new ones? Could a dismantling of the eurozone open the way for economic recovery and an easing of political tensions? Or would it unleash unmanageable economic and political instability?

Ποιοι πλήττονται περισσότερο από τον καταποντισμό των τιμών του πετρελαίου. Πώς επηρεάζεται η Ελλάδα

Με τους προβληματισμούς για τη συνεχιζόμενη πτώση των τιμών του πετρελαίου να εντείνονται- σε συνδυασμό με το εύθραυστο γεωπολιτικό σκηνικό, όπως αυτό διαμορφώνεται λόγω των εξελίξεων μέσα και πέρα από τη Μέση Ανατολή- το προφανές ερώτημα είναι ποιοι είναι αυτοί που επωφελούνται (εάν επωφελούνται) και ποιοι αυτοί που ζημιώνονται περισσότερο από τον καταποντισμό του «μαύρου χρυσού». Επίσης, στην παρούσα «εξίσωση», όπως γίνεται εύκολα αντιληπτό, δεν γίνεται να παραλειφθεί το πόσο και πώς επηρεάζεται η χώρα μας, καθώς, ακόμα και αν σε καμία περίπτωση η Ελλάδα δεν αποτελεί επί της παρούσης μεγάλο «παίκτη» στον χώρο, ο τομέας των υδρογονανθράκων παρουσιάζεται εδώ και καιρό ως ένας από τους πλέον πολλά υποσχόμενους για την κλυδωνιζόμενη ελληνική οικονομία. Ωστόσο, αυτή η προοπτική – της αξιοποίησης των όποιων υδρογονανθράκων ως μια εκ των «ατμομηχανών» για έξοδο από την κρίση- φαίνεται και αυτή να απειλείται, ειδικά λαμβάνοντας υπόψιν προβλέψεις όπως οι πρόσφατες της Morgan Stanley, σύμφωνα με τις οποίες δεν είναι απίθανο η τιμή του βαρελιού να πέσει ακόμα και στα 20 δολάρια εντός του προσεχούς μέλλοντος.

Η χαμένη γενιά της Ευρώπης; Το πρόβλημα διαρροής εγκεφάλων και πώς να το λύσουμε

Η πινακίδα των αναχωρήσεων στο τέρμιναλ 2 στο αεροδρόμιο του Μάντσεστερ, τον Αύγουστο του 2012. WIKIMEDIA

Όταν η κρίση του ευρώ ρήμαξε την οικονομία της Ιρλανδίας το 2009, το Δουβλίνο αμέσως στράφηκε προς την διασπορά της για βοήθεια. Ο τραπεζικός τομέας της Ιρλανδίας ήταν κοντά στην κατάρρευση και τα δημόσια οικονομικά της ήταν εκτός ελέγχου, αλλά οι επιτυχημένοι και πατριώτες ομογενείς της Ιρλανδίας ήταν σε καλή θέση για να βοηθήσουν. Ο τότε πρωθυπουργός Μπράιαν Κόουεν συγκέντρωσε [1] πάνω από 100 ηγετικά στελέχη της ιρλανδικής διασποράς στο Δουβλίνο για την έναρξη του Παγκόσμιου Οικονομικού Φόρουμ της Ιρλανδίας [2]. Ο στόχος του συνεδρίου ήταν να χρησιμοποιήσει τις ιδέες και την εμπειρία των ομογενών για την ανάπτυξη μέτρων που αποσκοπούν στην προώθηση της καινοτομίας, της επιχειρηματικότητας και την ανάπτυξη των βιομηχανιών «κλειδιά».

IN-WORK BENEFITS FOR EU MIGRANTS: HOW THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT DUG ITSELF INTO A HOLE

The UK could make both Britons and EU migrants wait four years before having access to in-work benefits, but the ECJ might still rule it illegal.

Today, David Cameron gave a speech and sent a letter to Donald Tusk, the European Council president, setting out his EU reform demands. Most of the reforms are not surprising, and compromise is achievable. But Cameron appears to be upping the ante on his key demand that is most difficult to achieve: that immigrants from the EU should be denied in-work benefits, such as tax credits and housing benefit, for four years.

Asian Shipbuilders Brace For Rough Times As Offshore Sector Wavers

The New Year is setting off on a dour note for energy investors of all stripes, but among those who should be the most concerned are investors in the offshore sector.

The offshore industry is beyond awful at this point. Offshore drilling is one of the most complex and capital intensive forms of E&P, and with every oil company in the world from Exxon to Mom & Pop operators looking to cut back, demand for offshore rig services is on life support. That reality is obvious looking at the abysmal performance of the world’s biggest ship builders which happen to be a trio of Korean companies.

The Next Front in the Saudi-Iran War

It looks like 2016 was born in violence. Saudi Arabia’s execution of popular Saudi Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr has led to an escalation with its regional nemesis, Iran. After Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran was sacked by an angry Iranian mob, Riyadh severed diplomatic ties with the country and organized a regional coalition of countries to isolate it further — Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Djibouti, and Sudan have all cut or downgraded diplomatic ties with the Islamic Republic in the incident’s aftermath. Iran accused Saudi Arabia of going even further Thursday, claiming that Saudi warplanes had launched airstrikes against its embassy in war-torn Yemen.

Oil Companies Shun South Chinese Sea As Geopolitical Tensions Rise

The South China Sea is continually paraded as a region rich in oil and gas deposits; however, no one really knows what’s there with any degree of accuracy. Furthermore, these possible deposits are shrouded in conflict that will not abate anytime soon, and will most likely worsen with an intensification of the security competition between China and the United States along with its regional allies, which is tightly related to these disputes.

The available exploration information in the South China Sea is either limited or old. So, there are assumptions, but evidence is shaky. The EIA estimates there may be nearly 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in proved and probable reserves all based on 2013 estimates and of course, 2013 prices. Not only were these reserves thought to be somewhat inflated at the time, but given the lower pricing currently available, this is potentially far less.

THE CONTINENTAL VIEW OF CAMERON'S RENEGOTIATION

As EU leaders gather for their summit in Brussels on December 17th and 18th, they are puzzled by David Cameron’s fixation on excluding EU migrants from in-work benefits. On the other dossiers of the British renegotiation, compromises are within reach. But even the influential Germans cannot see how the disagreement on benefits can be resolved. This means that Cameron cannot secure a deal until the summit of February 18th and 19th, 2016.