A deep collective angst has taken Germany over ever since Angela Merkel decided to open the borders to over a million refugees last summer. The fervent optimism of the “refugees welcome” movement has long since faded, and now people are scared. Read Here – The Telegraph
The primary election campaign made clear that Republicans are looking for a miracle worker, but with none in the field, they opted for the snake-oil salesmen instead. Trump pitches himself as an ultra-successful businessman, but scratching the story’s surface makes clear that it is — like so many others he tells — a mirage. Read […]
China gaining market economy status is a cause for concern within the EU. Ultimately, though, it is for Europe and its WTO partners to ensure that this status comes as part of a negotiated deal to protect against unfair dumping practices. Read Here – EuropeanCEO
After threatening to set up an air defense identification zone, what might the economic impact be if Beijing went one step further and closed off the entire area inside its so-called “nine-dash line”? Read Here – The National Interest
China’s true interest in the South China Sea has much more to do with history and politics than with oil and security. The South China Sea dispute is not about China’s interpretation of international law. It’s about China’s interpretation of itself. Read Here – Aljazeera
An arbitration court ruled that China has no historic title over the waters of the South China Sea and has breached the Philippines’ sovereign rights with its actions, infuriating Beijing which dismissed the case as a farce. Read Here – Reuters Why Does China Care So Much About Uninhabited Island President Xi Says China Rejects […]
President Vladimir Putin has set up a twin economic system in Russia. The apolitical part of the economy is subject to the laws of the free market. In parallel to this is the political part of the economy, where large state-owned structures control massive amounts of money flowing into and out of the budget, and is controlled […]
Misconceptions and outright misrepresentations of the role of oil in the Iraqi debacle remain, spawning conspiracy theories about conflicts from Libya, Syria and Gaza to Afghanistan. The corrupt and sclerotic energy sector continues to hold back the economy and blight the lives of ordinary Iraqis. Searching the Chilcot report to justify decade-old slogans of “no […]
As the faction most opposed to the government, Iran’s hard-liners have made it their goal to make Hassan Rouhani the first Iranian president not to be re-elected for a second term. In fact, this objective was sought since their loss of the executive branch back in 2013. Read Here – Al Monitor
China’s labor productivity — output per hour worked — is at 15 percent to 30 percent of the average for countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Raising that productivity is a big potential source of economic growth. But it’s also a potential source of layoffs and uncomfortable societal changes. Read Here – BloombergView
looking beyond borders 