Skip to content
Search
Human content, AI powered search.

Latest Stories

energy crisis

​A view is being seen of the northeast of Tehran at sunrise on August 17, 2012.
What We're Watching

Iran’s energy crisis pushes economy to the breaking point

After weeks of increasingly severe blackouts caused by massive natural gas shortages in Iran, the state power company warned manufacturers on Friday that they need to brace for power cuts that could last weeks and cost billions of dollars.

A graph comparing Venezuela's GDP per capita with the average price of crude oil.
News

The Graphic Truth: Economic turmoil in Venezuela

Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves but a combination of corruption, mismanagement, and tough US sanctions since the Maduro regime came to power in 2013 has meant that the petrostate has failed to benefit from its vast reserves of liquid gold.

While high oil prices under the Chavez regime in the early 2000s gave a boost to Venezuela’s middle class, US sanctions first imposed in 2006 – and significantly ramped up under the Obama and Trump administrations – have cut Caracas off from US financial systems.

Economic hardship is rife, with a staggering 50% of people living in extreme poverty. Pervasive hopelessness has also led to one of the worst migrant crises in the world.

In a bid to offset a global energy crisis in 2022 as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Biden administration began lifting some sanctions on the Venezuelan oil sector. So how are things faring? We look at GDP per capita and corresponding oil prices since 1999.

A woman cooks by a candlelight during one of the frequent power outages in South Africa.
News

South Africa struggles in the dark

Things are dark in South Africa right now, both metaphorically and literally. Though not new, rolling blackouts have worsened in recent months, disrupting every aspect of daily life. Why are things so dire in Africa’s most industrialized country, and what’s the government’s plan to fix it?

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif during a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
News

Russia and Pakistan might cut unprecedented oil deal

Cold War rivals Russia and Pakistan are negotiating an agreement for the Russians to start selling cheap oil to energy-starved Pakistan.

Ukraine's President Zelenskiy visits Ukrainian service members in Bakhmut, Ukraine.
News

Three hundred days of war in Ukraine

In a sign that Kyiv is doubling down on efforts to secure more support ahead of a grueling winter, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will reportedly arrive on Wednesday in Washington, DC – his first time leaving Ukraine since the war began. What are some of the biggest challenges facing Ukraine in the months ahead?

A trader works on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, U.S.
News

What We’re Watching: Central banks vs. inflation, Peru’s endless crisis, Russian "energy terrorism"

What We’re Watching: Central banks vs. inflation, Peru’s endless crisis, Russian "energy terrorism"

Europe’s tough decisions: Russia, China, and EU unity
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

Europe’s tough decisions: Russia, China, and EU unity

The escalating Russia/Ukraine war has united European support to Kyiv’s cause, but it’s also brought a plethora of economic, political, and social challenges. Inflation, a sinking Euro, and the possibility of an energy crisis brings to question just how long Europe’s support for Ukraine will last? On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer speaks with German diplomat Christoph Heusgen, who served as his country’s ambassador to the United Nations and is now chairman of the Munich Security Conference.

The state of the global economy is … not good
GZERO World Clips

The state of the global economy is … not good

The annual fall meetings of the World Bank and the IMF were all about global economic doom and gloom. The IMF has cut its global growth prediction for this year by half. And what about climate change? That may be the one silver lining for the IMF.

Political unrest when governments fail struggling citizens
Closing the Gap

Political unrest when governments fail struggling citizens

What happens when 1.4 billion people are cut off from the global economy because they don't have a bank account at a time of mounting crises? "The geopolitical ramifications are potentially huge," Ali Wyne, senior analyst for Global Macro-Geopolitics at Eurasia Group, says during a livestream conversation on closing the global digital gap hosted by GZERO in partnership with Visa.

Biden's Gas Prices woes
News

The Graphic Truth: Biden's gas price woes

Polls show US voters rank the economy as their No. 1 issue ahead of the Nov. 8 midterms. Many blame Democrats for today’s inflationary pressures despite a bid by the White House to dub increased prices at the pump as “Putin’s price hike.” But even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine sent global supply chains into a tizzy, Biden’s disapproval rating was way higher than he would’ve liked. We track the correlation between it and US gas prices since the beginning of the year.