Middle East: Febrile and fragmented

America may wish to pivot towards Asia and Europe may be turned inward, but the Middle East offers no respite, writes David Gardner

America may wish to pivot towards Asia and Europe may be turned inward, but the Middle East offers no respite, writes David Gardner

Middle East In a region that gave birth to all three Abrahamic faiths, fears for the future are growing among Christians as regimes that gave them protection yield to something less certain, writes David Gardner

ETF Database submits: As the turmoil in the Middle East spreads, many investors have fled a number of market sectors for the safe havens of gold and silver in order to wait out the storm. Arguably, no one sector has been more impacted than the emerging markets which have seen tremendous outflows thanks to a broad flight to quality by numerous investors around the globe.

Submitted by Claude Salhani via OilPrice.com,

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has warned that the fall of his regime would destabilise the region "for many years," as US President Barack Obama announced talks with Middle East allies over the crisis.

Do you remember the promises?  When Obama took over, the Middle East would come to love the US again.  As Obama, famously declared in his 2009 Cairo speech, his election meant a “new beginning” with the Muslim world. The truth, however, is much uglier:

By David Fry (ETF Digest): When an investor thinks about the Middle East, there's no doubt one thing that looms large in their mind: oil. Oil makes the world go round, and the Middle East is awash in it.