Sandy Gill in Sofia Fri, 24th May -- It might be the start of a solution in Bulgaria, if it isn't the start of new problems. On May 23, Plamen Oresharski became the "technocrat" tasked with putting together a "programme government of experts" in the wake of Bulgaria's early elections held on May 12 - elections precipitated by mass street protests and producing a complicated result.
bne Fri, 24th May -- Herbert Stepic, the chief executive of Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), offered his resignation on May 24, according to a statement issued by the bank. The move follows reports earlier this week that Stepic used letterbox firms in offshore centres for property deals that he did not report to his employer.
Graham Stack in Kyiv Fri, 24th May -- An address in London's Tooley Street hosts the business empire of mysterious Ukrainian MP Yury Ivanyuschenko - and a multitude of even murkier companies with CIS connections. bne follows the trail all the way to Latvia.
bne Fri, 24th May --
Plans by Turkmenistan to launch gas exports to Europe via Azerbaijan are under "serious" discussion and remain realistic, a senior Turkmen official claimed on May 23, despite the lack of resolution over the major barrier to such exports, which is the status of the Caspian Sea shared by five littoral states.
bne Fri, 24th May --
The Slovak government is mulling a plan to pile additional taxes on renewable energy producers that have benefitted from overly-generous state support, Prime Minister Robert Fico said on May 23.
bne Fri, 24th May --
As the Bank of Lithuania lowered its forecast for economic growth, officials warned on May 23 that Lithuania risks missing its professed target date of 2015 to join the euro due to the growing budget deficit.
bne Fri, 24th May --
Turkey on May 23 threatened again to intervene in the long-standing ownership spat at mobile operator Turkcell. The claim from Ankara that it may step in came a day after the company failed to hold its AGM due to the stand off.
Sandy Gill in Sofia Fri, 24th May --
It might be the start of a solution in Bulgaria, if it isn't the start of new problems. On May 23, Plamen Oresharski became the "technocrat" tasked with putting together a "programme government of experts" in the wake of Bulgaria's early elections held on May 12 - elections precipitated by mass street protests and producing a complicated result.
David O'Byrne in Istanbul Thu, 23rd May --
If, as the old adage would have us believe, "It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive", then the visit in mid-May by Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Energy Minister Taner Yildiz to Washington can be judged to have been a complete success.
Molly Corso in Tbilisi Thu, 23rd May --
With just six months before the Georgian presidential election, solid popularity ratings for the Georgian Dream coalition government means its candidate appears poised for victory in October. Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili's choice for the coalition's presidential candidate, however, has added to questions about his own political goals.
Graham Stack in Kyiv Fri, 24th May --
An address in London's Tooley Street hosts the business empire of mysterious Ukrainian MP Yury Ivanyuschenko - and a multitude of even murkier companies with CIS connections. bne follows the trail all the way to Latvia.
Ben Aris in Moscow Tue, 21st May --
When the Soviet Union fell in 1991 and the borders were thrown open to consumer goods, the first thing to arrive from the West, predictably enough, was cigarettes. The second was good shoes. Now Obuv Rossii is looking to become the "Magnit of shoes", following in the footsteps of Russia's super successful supermarket chain.
Clare Nuttall in Astana Mon, 20th May --
Central Asian republics are stepping up efforts to engage with post-war Afghanistan economically, for example with new rail lines, as fears grow about the security implications that the US military withdrawal could have on the region as a whole.
Ivan Tchakarov of Renaissance Capital Wed, 22nd May --
Russia seems to have fallen into the middle-income trap as it reaches per-capital income levels of $16k. A slowdown in GDP growth of a similar magnitude to that observed in other economies suffering from the same disease would yield a post-middle-income-trap average growth rate of only 1.6%.
Ben Aris in Moscow Wed, 22nd May --
Confusion reigns over what will happen to the Russian economy in due course: is it headed into the "dustbin of history", in Trotsky's immortal phrase, or will it be the fastest growing in Europe by the end of the year?
Ben Aris in Istanbul Fri, 10th May --
"The news is not good: there is no quick turnaround in sight." That was the conclusion of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's chief economist, Eric Berglof, at the multilateral lender's annual conference being held this year in Istanbul on May 10-11.
Anders Aslund Fri, 3rd May --
The Ukrainian banking system has gone through persistent convulsions. A wave of West European purchases of Ukrainian banks just before the crisis of 2008-09 has been largely reversed. Instead, Russian and Ukrainian state banks have expanded, as have banks owned by people close to President Viktor Yanukovych.
bne Mon, 29th Apr --
Much has been made of Russia's poor demographic situation and the problem of a shrinking population has been held up as the reason the country is doomed. But in an excellent piece, Forbes contributor Mark Adomanis points out that if Russia is doomed, then so are all the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
Southeast Europe daily