Switzerland's economy will gain momentum in the coming months, buoyed in part by an improvement in business sentiment in surrounding euro zone countries, the leading Swiss indicator suggested on Friday.

• September 2, 2013

A Snapshot of Key Developments in the External Relations of the Russian Gas Sector
By Jack Sharples, EGF Associate Researcher on the external dimensions of Russian gas

Key points:

• Russia warns EU over anti-monopoly investigation; OMV enters into price-revision talks with Gazprom and Statoil; Gazprom and GDF Suez agree to revise their gas contract; Gazprom’s European exports rise 9.6 percent y-o-y in H1 2013, but net profits fall 35 percent; Gazprom cancels calls for bids to prepare project documentation for the Shtokman project; Gazprom subsidiary to enter the Italian fuel market as Gazprom plans an expansion of its own natural gas vehicle (NGV) market
• Ukraine reduces its imports of Russian gas in favour of supplies from Europe
• Russian Stroytransgas to build the overland sections of South Stream in the Balkans
• No new developments in Gazprom-CNPC negotiations, but Putin’s meeting with the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, at the G20 Summit could add fresh impetus
• Gazprom wins auction for Moscow power generation utility, MOEK

• September 2, 2013

Insights into Turkish Domestic and International Politics during 1-16 August 2013
By John VanPool, EGF Turkey and Black Sea Regional Analyst

Key Points:

• The Ergenekon case reaches its expected finish, with 19 defendants facing decades in prison. Former Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Ilker Basbug, faces life for his role in the conspiracy.
• The timing of the case’s conclusion with the recent military overthrow of Egypt’s democratically elected government appears to be a message to Turkey’s generals.
• Outside of the AKP camp, critics rounded on the lack of plausibility regarding the evidence and cast of players.
• Parliament’s Constitutional Commission speeds up its work, adding protections for women, children, and homosexuals to the draft document.
• Turkey’s economy slows as foreign investment pulls back from emerging markets.
• Yet the long term investment possibilities, specifically in the energy infrastructure sector, appear to be a solid bet.

• September 2, 2013

Global investors lifted their holdings of euro zone assets to the highest in more than a year this month while trimming exposure to Asian equities during a rout of emerging market assets, Reuters polls showed.

• August 30, 2013

China said there should be no rush to force U.N. Security Council action against Syria until a probe by U.N. experts into suspected chemical weapons use is complete.

• August 30, 2013

Russia banned pork imports from Belarus on Friday, stepping up a diplomatic and trade war over the arrest of a Russian businessman and threatening to deepen the isolation of its former Soviet ally.

• August 30, 2013

Major central banks' reassurances that interest rates will stay low for some time are giving markets "a certain security", a European Central Bank policymaker said on Thursday.

• August 29, 2013

Greece's international lenders will press Athens next month to transfer state-owned real estate to a holding company managed by the euro zone to spur flagging privatization efforts, officials said on Thursday.

• August 29, 2013