The onset of the Trump era forced economists to confront their doubts about their usefulness to the public. They shared this ordeal with political forecasters, Democrats, logicians and journalists. Maybe we all deserved the anguish. Those economists who remain in a funk should nonetheless snap themselves out of it. One reason is that the sappy self-loathing economist is now embarrassingly cliché. Take it from a sappy self-loathing […]
TOKYO Asian shares took a breather on Friday, slipping from 1-1/2-year highs as material shares were hit by sudden falls in copper and other commodity prices while investors assessed Washington’s stance on tax and currency policies. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was down 0.5 percent, giving back part of this week’s gains, though it is likely to log its fifth straight weekly advance. […]
Submitted by Daniel Mitchell via The Foundation for Economic Education, Early last month, in a column on my hopes and fears for 2017, I fretted about fiscal chaos in Italy leading to default and bailouts. Simply stated, I fear that Italy, along with certain other “Club Med” nations, has passed the point of no return in terms of big government, demographic decline, and societal dependency. And this […]
Since its launch in 2010, Pinterest has established itself as one of the most popular image and idea curation sites, with an incredible 100 million monthly active users. There are plenty of other social-media sites, but for design lovers, Pinterest is still the ultimate source of inspiration, with everything from room makeovers to colour palettes, creative projects and insider tips. Here’s a rundown of some of our […]
Should we try to time the market? And has the boom in passive investments brought any problems in its wake? The problems are linked and urgent. The move from traditional actively managed funds to passive indexed funds, which aim merely to track and index and reduce costs, continues to intensify. Meanwhile, if ever there was a point when it might seem right to time the market, and […]
We may be about to witness the extinction of a very rare bird indeed: the $1m Monaco home. Savills agent Irene Luke hasn’t seen one on her books for several years. “We’re selling a parking space for €190,000,” she says, “so you’re not going to get very much for a million dollars.” Luke taps at a computer, trawling through all sorts of listings the public doesn’t have […]
That leaves many governments invested in vague hopes that such a settlement, however rickety or superficial, will somehow stop the metastasis of the Syrian crisis and ease fears of Islamic State terrorism — often conflated with concerns about ordinary Syrian refugees — that have fueled the rise of right-wing politicians. Photo Syrian refugees live in makeshift tent settlements in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Credit Diego Ibarra Sanchez for […]
A body set up by the Saudi-led coalition to investigate civilian casualties in Yemen said on Thursday a technical fault was responsible for the death of seven people in a 2015 air strike but cleared the alliance of other attacks. Saudi Arabia and its allies in a mostly Gulf Arab military coalition have been bombing the Iran-aligned Houthi movement since they seized much of northern Yemen in […]
By James Pearson and Jack Kim | SEOUL SEOUL The bizarre assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s estranged half-brother marks a departure from the isolated country’s repertoire of overseas operations, according to experts on its opaque ruling structures. Kim Jong Nam died last week after being assaulted at the airport in the Malaysian capital with what police believe was a fast-acting poison. The two women […]
Rex Tillerson, US secretary of state, struck a conciliatory tone during a visit to Mexico, saying the neighbouring countries had an opportunity to upgrade their economic relationship. After meeting Mexican officials during his second mission as the top US diplomat, Mr Tillerson said the countries had agreed to “seize the opportunity to modernise and strengthen our trade and energy relationship”. His remarks came just after President Donald […]
By Steve Holland | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said on Thursday he wants to build up the U.S. nuclear arsenal to ensure it is at the “top of the pack,” saying the United States has fallen behind in its atomic weapons capacity. In a Reuters interview, Trump also said China could solve the national security challenge posed by North Korea “very easily if they want to,” […]
By David Shepardson and Ginger Gibson | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump told about two dozen chief executives of major U.S. companies on Thursday he plans to bring millions of jobs back to the United States, but offered no specific plan on how to reverse a decades-long decline in factory jobs. In his first month in office, Trump has pressured a number of U.S. companies to hire […]
BEIRUT: Turkish-backed Syrian opposition announced on Thursday they had taken full control of Al-Bab from the Daesh group, marking a key defeat for the jihadists after weeks of heavy fighting.The town of Al-Bab, just 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of the Turkish border, was the last Daesh stronghold in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo.“We are announcing Al-Bab completely liberated, and we are now clearing mines from […]
A recent meme under the hashtag #OscarsWeNeed, dubbed “Outstanding Background Extra”, perfectly encapsulates what The National’s Alternative Academy Awards (aka The Other Oscars) is all about. There he was, an extra standing behind Spectre star Daniel Craig, sweeping as if his life depended on it – even as his broom never came close to the ground. As Hollywood prepares to honour the best of American and foreign […]
For footloose international money, the safest place to hide in the European financial system may be two-year German debt. The government of Europe’s largest economy not meeting such obligations in euros is as close to inconceivable as things get. The debt is also easy and cheap to trade, which means it can be a market signal of investor angst. The price of such safety set a record […]
By Mehreen Zahra-Malik | LAHORE, Pakistan LAHORE, Pakistan Pakistani real estate giant Rafi Group made a ten-fold profit last year from its sale of hundreds of acres of land in the remote fishing town of Gwadar, acquired soon after the government announced plans for a deep-sea port there. The windfall came after 12 years of waiting patiently for the Gwadar port to emerge as the centrepiece of […]
For the Arab world’s largest country, February 11, 2011, was the moment the 21st-century began. Hosni Mubarak, after decades in power, was finally pushed to step down after millions of people took the streets. Many things were born in Tahrir Square that day. Hope for the future. A new politics led by youth. A revolutionary current, as H A Hellyer puts in his new book A Revolution Undone. […]
Axa chief executive Thomas Buberl has distanced himself from a bid for Generali’s German life insurance business. There has been speculation that the French group could play a part in any break-up process that would follow the possible acquisition of Generali by Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo. However, speaking to the Financial Times on Thursday, Mr Buberl said that “buying a traditional life insurance business in Germany would […]
Stainless steel is regaining its shine. After falling victim like many other basic industries to the global commodities downturn, companies that specialise in the rustproof metal are enjoying a change in their fortunes. An upwards spiral in share prices, bigger profits and increased payouts to investors is helping to restore the lustre in this niche of the steel market. “It’s very clear we are now in a […]
BAGHDAD U.S.-backed Iraqi security forces closing in on the Islamic State-held western half of Mosul stormed the city’s airport and a nearby military base on Thursday, state television said. Counter-terrorism service (CTS) troops and elite interior ministry units known as Rapid Response descended on the airport early on Thursday and the nearby Ghozlani military complex, CTS spokesman Sabah al-Numan told state TV. “Our forces started a major […]
For the past several months we’ve warned that the taxpayers of the City of Dallas, despite all of the tough talk coming out of their elected city council members, would ultimately be forced to bail out the failing Dallas Police and Fire Pension (DPFP) system. And just last night the DPFP board voted 9-0 to approve a plan that would do just that. The plan to save […]
By Brenda Goh | DANDONG, China DANDONG, China As Beijing tightens its grip on trade with North Korea, the economies of Chinese towns along the 1,400-km border the two countries share are floundering. On Saturday, China said it would ban all coal imports from North Korea, the latest move to enforce United Nations sanctions aimed at depriving Pyongyang of hard currency for its nuclear weapons and ballistic […]
What is the most dangerous job in the UAE? Firefighting? High-rise window cleaning? How about photographing people as you are tumbling through the air after jumping out of an airplane? So far in his high-flying career, Juan Mayer, from Argentina, has jumped more than 11,000 times. He admits being a skydiving photographer is a risky job. “I’ve been on many jumps that have gone wrong and led […]
Goldman Sachs, the last bank on Wall Street to handle significant physical volumes of oil and gas, has pushed back against a planned crackdown on combining finance with commodities trading. The institution warned the Federal Reserve to carefully weigh the effects on markets and companies as it sought to levy steep capital charges against a bank’s holdings of bulk materials. In its letter to the Fed dated […]
