Clare Nuttall in Almaty
Fri, 27th Aug -- Border closures after the Kyrgyz revolution and Kazakhstan's entry into the Customs Union with Russia have presented challenges for Central Asia's hundreds of thousands of bazaar vendors and shuttle traders this year. But the region's multi-billion-dollar bazaar trade has always proved to be enormously flexible.

Dimitri Kryukov of Verno Investment Management
Wed, 25th Aug -- The summer heat wave in central Russia that saw temperatures soar over 40C, appears to be over. But the long-term economic impact of the drought remains unclear.

Nicholas Watson in Prague
Wed, 1st Sep -- Considering that the winner of bne's best equity fund in last year's ranking managed it with a return of just 9.9%, the 78.1% return of this year's winner, the Raiffeisen-Russia-Equities fund, shows just how far and fast the recovery in the region's markets has been.

Clare Nuttall in Almaty
Wed, 18th Aug -- Hard on the heels of news that KazMunaiGas has signed off on a deal to increase its stake in Kashagan, comes reports the Kazakh government is close to striking a deal over the Karachaganak gas project.

Derek Brower in London
Mon, 23rd Aug -- The global gas glut, a dampening of demand and the prospect of new domestic supplies has ended the CEE region's energy-security worries.

Samantha Shields in Batumi, Georgia
Thu, 26th Aug -- Batumi, capital of Georgia's tiny autonomous Black Sea region of Adjara, is hoping to capitalize on its position as President Mikheil Saakashvili's pet project to reclaim its 19th century glory days and become an important commercial and tourism hub within the next 10 years.

Nadia Damon in Sofia
Tue, 31st Aug -- Gold has traditionally been a safe haven in times of trouble, so it's little wonder that over the last couple of years private investors and institutions alike have moved to shore up their portfolios with this most tangible of assets.

Clare Nuttall and Ben Aris in Almaty
Thu, 19th Aug -- Predictions that Kazakhstan would be first in, first out of the crisis have proved to be not far from the truth.

Mike Collier in Riga
Mon, 16th Aug -- Rietumu Banka's chairman Alexander Kalinovski tells bne that the bank is headquartered in Latvia and therefore we consider Latvia to be our "home" market. "But our business and the business of our customers is both regional and global."

Clare Nuttall in Almaty
Tue, 10th Aug -- James Giffen, the American consultant dubbed "Mr Kazakhstan" for his role in 1990s oil deals, has pleaded guilty to a tax misdemeanor. He is facing a maximum penalty of just one year in jail and a $25,000 fine when he is sentenced in November.

Clare Nuttall in Almaty
Mon, 9th Aug -- The crisis forced millions of migrant workers to return home, but this has not dampened the enthusiasm among residents of the former Soviet countries for working abroad. In total, around 100m people in the region would be willing to move abroad, according to a Gallup Poll.

Clare Nuttall in Almaty
Wed, 4th Aug -- Three months after the assets of Uzbekistan's largest foreign investor, Zeromax, were seized by the State Security Service, mystery still surrounds the motive behind the move.