This is a line spoken by Puck in Shakespeare’s play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Argentina recently announced its ninth sovereign debt default. That Argentina defaulted should not have been a surprise, but that the country had an opportunity to default a ninth time makes one wonder just who lends money to a serial defaulter after […]
Read MoreChina has lent billions to poor countries, and now they can’t pay it back. Perhaps China should have heeded J. Paul Getty’s observation, “If you owe the bank $100 that’s your problem, if you owe the bank $100 million, that’s the bank’s problem.” China’s global lending spree, which, over the last two decades, showered less […]
Read MoreInvestors would be well advised to be cautious when evaluating investment opportunities based on government efforts to artificially, and often temporarily, affect consumer behavior. Consider the causes and implications of falling electric vehicles (EV) sales in China, the world’s largest market, accounting for approximately 60% of global output last year. China has been reducing subsidies […]
Read MoreFrancois Delattre, France’s ambassador to the United Nations, as he prepared to return to France, expressed the thought that the world is growing more dangerous. His concerns are based on the perception that three main safety mechanisms no longer function. No more American power willing to be the last-resort enforcer of international order. No solid […]
Read MoreWith the October 31 deadline for a Brexit withdrawal rapidly approaching, it is increasingly clear that there is no political consensus for the terms under which the United Kingdom would exit from the European Union. It has been suggested that, while 52% of British citizens voted in favor of Brexit in June 2016, increasing awareness […]
Read More“Flygskam” is Swedish for “flight shame,” a rising headwind for the airline industry that is particularly strong in Sweden and Scandinavia. Climate studies show that airlines are a major factor in the increase in greenhouse gases. A European Commission study noted that someone flying from Europe to New York, and back, generates roughly the same […]
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