It remains to be seen if President Donald Trump has any interest in helping Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters — but if he does, there are a number of options available to him, write former GOP Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Christine Whiton in an […]
Author: Erik Sass
Johnson could go to jail if he flouts Brexit delay law
As Boris Johnson faces off with an intransigent Parliament over Brexit, prompting pundits to speculate about his possible courses of action, one shocking possibility has emerged over the last week: he could simply ignore the legislation, passed by a “rebel alliance” including erstwhile members of […]
UK savers, prepare to be screwed by even lower interest rates
With a fresh wave of economic uncertainty gripping Europe and the rest of the world, central banks are considering lowering interest rates even further, and in the UK that means they may soon be heading towards 0% — raising a big question for British savers, […]
Eco-conscious Germans still love their gas guzzlers
The inhabitants of rich countries talk a good game on the environment, but it’s rather a different story when it comes to their own personal preferences and behaviors. On that note, while a large number of Germans profess to be concerned about the environment, they […]
Can threat of decoupling resolve trade war?
Donald Trump’s famous claim that “trade wars are easy to win” has attracted much “I told you so”-ing from economists and pundits, as the U.S. dispute with China drags on and on in the face of Chinese intransigence, apparently with no end in sight. However […]
Unhappily, UK’s unwritten constitution in uncharted territory
The Brexit impasse has pushed British politics close to the historic boundaries of its democratic system of government, and the only thing that’s certain is that this is not a good thing. The Wall Street Journal notes the ways that Boris Johnson’s embattled premiership is […]
Trade wars are hitting global confidence
There is now a serious risk that escalating trade disputes between major global players will tip the world economy into recession, warns the Financial Times editorial board in a new op-ed published Friday. The FT opinion chiefs tally a number of ominous trends as we […]
Pentagon needs to adapt to new tech landscape
In the good old days of the Cold War (well, old days at least) the Pentagon was a key driver of technological innovation, and its dominance was reflected in the structure of R&D and procurement programs. But the old bureaucracy is woefully unsuited to […]
Has climate change impacted agricultural production? Depends who you ask
Reports on climate change have a funny way of raising more questions than they answer. Depending on which experts and pundits you choose to believe, the world is either already feeling the impact of climate change on agricultural production, or the whole thing is overstated and alarmist. […]
U.S. and Europe must present united front to China
Any country which tries to confront China’s unfair trade policies by itself, including rampant theft of IP and anti-competitive practices, is probably doomed to failure given the sheer size of the Chinese economy — and this judgment also applies to the United States, wielding […]