Given all the news this week of Russia and Italy's South Stream deal with Turkey in exchange for a nuclear power plant, I thought I would repost an article written by Robert Amsterdam last fall in Energy Risk on Turkey's political pipelines.

FROM OCT. 2008, ENERGY RISK:

Turkey's political pipelines

Turkey's strategic position at the crossroads of East and West has put it at the centre of a geopolitical tug of war, with energy supply a key driver. Robert Amsterdam examines the energy policies being brought to bear in the region

Turkey's role in global affairs is defined by its geostrategic importance as the bridge between Europe and the Near East. Following Russia's invasion and occupation of Georgia in August, which caused considerable energy supply jitters, Turkey was once again thrust into the spotlight as the European

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This post is a guest contribution by Dr Mark Mobius, executive chairman of Templeton Asset Management.

Emerging markets surged in the second quarter of 2009 with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index returning 34.8% in US$ terms. Part of this return was due to weakness in the US dollar. A return of confidence in emerging markets, the desire for higher returns and the search for undervalued companies support the markets’ uptrend.

Latin American and Eastern European markets were among the strongest performers during the quarter, while most Asian markets also recorded strong double-digit returns. A rebound in commodity prices and stronger domestic currencies supported markets in Latin America. Asian markets continued to attract significant portfolio inflows allowing markets such as China, India and Thailand to outperform their regional counterparts. In Eastern Europe, Hungary returned 69.7% in US$ terms in part due to a strong forint. Poland returned 37.0% in

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