Middle East

The European Commission (EC) released a report today saying that last quarter's economic contraction will extend into the first two quarters of 2012, sending the euro zone group of economies into a recession. Today's report from the European Commission forecast that euro zone economies will shrink...

As the financial crisis in Europe continues to worsen, China announced that it will cut bank reserve levels for the first time in three years. The Chinese government is concerned that the problems faced by Europe and the United States could cause the Chinese economy to slow down. The People's Bank...

Protesters in Egypt continued to push for the removal of the military from politics in what is looking like a repeat of the protests earlier in the year that forced long time Egyptian ruler President Hosni Mubarak to step down from power. The protesters have filled Cairo's Tahrir Square and faced...

There are more reports coming out of Syria that soldiers from the Syrian army continue to turn on Syrian President Bashar Assad. Many members of the Syrian military are joining the opposition against Assad's brutal crackdown and are turning their guns away from protesters and directly at the forces...

During this week, Crude Oil broke above $95. This is very important because this level is the 50% Fibonacci retracement and where the 200-day moving average sits, which are very important levels to any technical analyst. The commodity has been in a mid-term bear trend since April/May, moving from...

The alleged Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States threatens to disturb the delicate balance of power in the Middle East. The Sunni Muslim monarchy of Saudi Arabia and the Shiite Muslim theocracy of Iran have been increasingly at odds over a number of disputes...

The United States and Israel have been scrambling to gain enough votes to block a United Nations vote to recognize a Palestinian state. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said that he will ask the fifteen member United Nations Security Council to recognize Palestine as the United...

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said that China is in need of political reform during a speech at the World Economic Forum in the Chinese city of Dalian. Although Premier Wen has made numerous similar statements in the past, not all China observers are convinced of the Chinese Premier's sincerity....

Syria's months long bloody crackdown against protestors has drawn the condemnation of many world leaders but the latest criticism comes from the country's closest ally, Iran. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reportedly said during an interview with a Portuguese television station that Syria...

Greater use of alternative energy sources like solar and wind power may soon get a boost after an Associated Press report claimed that the threat of disaster caused by an earthquake hitting American nuclear power plant is much greater than previously believed. The report said that a review by the...