4 February 2019  |  Geopolitical

This “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) promises to link China to both neighbouring and distant regions along its southern and western frontiers through a mass infrastructure investment project, including roads, rail lines, ports, energy pipelines and digital networks. With a sum total of promised investments reaching $1 trillion (estimates vary), the BRI may be the most ambitious scheme of its kind ever attempted – 7 to 8 times larger than the $140 billion Marshall Plan that funded the reconstruction of Europe after the Second World War – and could take decades to fully complete.

6 December 2018  |  Geopolitical

This report moves beyond traditional approaches to risk management in the financial services industry and focuses specifically on understanding political uncertainty. It uses the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as a case study to illustrate the value of social scientific theory when analyzing multilateral negotiations.

6 November 2018  |  Geopolitical

Canadian financial service professionals have watched negotiations with a keen eye to see what changes could be made to the original NAFTA provisions and what the possible implications might be for the industry. With an agreement in place, it is possible to begin to evaluate the new elements of the USMCA and point to the kinds of first and second-order effects of which financial risk managers should be aware.