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This paper is devoted to the issue of forecasting financial ratios. The objective of the conducted research is to develop a predictive model with the use of an innovative methodology, i.e., fuzzy logic theory, and to evaluate its effectiveness. Fuzzy logic has been widely used in machinery, robotics and industrial engineering. This paper introduces the use of fuzzy logic for the financial analysis of enterprises. While many current phenomena in finance and economics are fuzzy, they are treated as if they are crisp. Fuzzy logic provides an appropriate tool for modeling imprecise, uncertain and ambiguous phenomena. Because the financial situation of a company is affected by many factors (economic, political, psychological, etc.) that cannot be precisely and unambiguously defined, the approach used in this paper greatly enhances the predictive power of financial analysis and makes it an economically useful tool for the management of enterprises. Empirically, this paper employs three testing samples: Central European enterprises, Latin American companies and global firms. From the verification of these models, it is evident that the refined processes are effective in improving the forecasting of financial situations of all three types of enterprises. The models created by the author are characterized by high efficiency. This study is one of the world's first attempts to combine ratio analysis with fuzzy logic to predict the financial situations of companies.

The infrastructure required for international natural gas trade is considerable, which often leads to hold-up problems and supply disruptions. This study discusses disruptions of gas supply from Algeria, Indonesia, Russia, and Turkmenistan since the early 1980s. The novelty of this study is its focus on the issues related to transit countries, which are rarely considered in the literature. The results of the study classify supply disruptions into six types, show the evolution of supply disruptions over time, and discuss mitigation strategies. The six types of disruptions include political change, price demands, debts, technical issues, transit fees, theft of gas. The evolution of the disruptions shows that the issues related to transit countries have become more frequent in the last two decades. Mitigation strategies tailored to transit countries include using an international organisation, designing contracts with price mechanisms that might reduce the possibility of disputes and reducing the number of parties involved in the trade.