Research · Professional Curiosity
Professional Curiosity
Opinion pieces drawn from our studies.
9 pieces
Mauritius · October 2026
Mauritius raised fuel prices by 10%. The rest of the increase has been deferred.
Mauritius raised petrol and diesel by 10% on 29 September. The pricing formula had asked for about 18%. Here is where the rest went.
Read the pieceSouth Africa · October 2026
Targeted sanctions are aimed at politicians. Whether they stay there depends on who owns what.
A senior South African business leader recently urged Washington to target the individuals behind contested policies, not the country.
Read the pieceNew Zealand · October 2026
Malaysia is a good place to do business. It is not yet New Zealand’s route into ASEAN.
In September, New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Malaysia offers New Zealand businesses “access to wider ASEAN production networks”.
Read the pieceNorth Carolina · October 2026
Part of the case against private equity is documented. Much of the argument around it is not.
“Everyone hates private equity.” We tested 31 grievances against the public record. Fourteen hold up. The hostility itself has never been measured.
Read the pieceNew Zealand · September 2026
Fonterra's FY26 was a rebound for its investors. Per kilogram of milk, it was not one for its farmers.
Fonterra's profit rose 142% in FY26 while total payout per kilogram of milk fell 2.9%. Why both are true, and what a reader could ask.
Read the pieceNorth Carolina · September 2026
Minority rights in private equity are real. They rarely decide anything.
A recent South African working paper made a simple point about listed companies: holding shareholder rights is not the same as having influence.
Read the pieceUAE / GCC · September 2026
The UAE's indicators were not wrong in 2026. They were measuring something else.
In August 2026 the UAE's non-oil purchasing managers' index reached 55.3, its strongest reading since December 2024, and it had not fallen below the neutral 50 mark at any point since the disruption began in February.
Read the pieceSouth Africa · September 2026
No governance code asks a board to test its insurance programme. The test already exists, written for someone else.
Thirteen principles, four search terms, no occurrences. What we found when we tested a claim about insurance governance.
Read the pieceUAE / GCC · September 2026
Dubai is a world-class place to start a company. It is not yet a self-reinforcing ecosystem.
Dubai's entry system is among the best anywhere. On the public record, documented exchange shows up in one subsector only.
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