A feud between Saudi Arabia and Russia that sent oil prices plunging on March 9 has rewritten economic forecasts across Eurasia. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia – the former Soviet Union’s largest oil producers – are preparing for budget shortfalls, pressure on their currencies and possibly recession. Adding to uncertainty is the panic over the quickening spread of the novel coronavirus causing COVID-19, which has cut consumer demand around the world. Only last year Azerbaijan increased pensions and other social services to ease the pain of inflation and address rising discontent. At the time, President Ilham Aliyev said the spending would be covered by reforms to the tax system. Some of those funds would come from higher customs revenues, consumer spending (via a value-added tax), and an expected uptick in tourist arrivals. Yet these returns are now expected to fall because of COVID-19, said Gubad Ibadoglu, a senior analyst at […]