China’s Provocative Blunder in the Pacific
China is now making East Asia as unsafe as it possibly can. Tokyo and Beijing are not that far from blows over a few forsaken rocks in the East China Sea. Is Beijing behaving badly because it wants to flex…
The U.S.- Europe Trade Agreement That’s Going Nowhere
German Chancellor Angela Merkel wants it. So do British Prime Minister David Cameron and dozens of prominent business leaders. And Washington sources tell me President Obama will back the idea when he delivers his State of the Union speech on February…
Cameron Rolls the Dice on Britain’s EU Future
Let there be no question about Britain. After Prime Minister David Cameron’s speech last week, there is a strong chance that the UK will abandon the European Union. Indeed, if a vote were held tomorrow Britons would choose by a considerable…
U.S. and China: Co-dependent Trade Rivals
Chinese exporters had a whacking great December, posting a year-to-year gain of 14.1 percent and giving China its first annual trade surplus in four years. The U.S. trade deficit grew by 15.8 percent in November, led primarily by imports of…
Will the US Be Aced Out of A New Asian Alliance?
America’s closest allies in Asia are wasting no time establishing new economic and political alliances that can diminish the role of the U.S. in that region. Both Japan and South Korea are setting their own courses to an extent long…
The Global Fiscal and Political “Cliffs” of 2013
The U.S. “fiscal cliff” is one of many fiscal and political precipices to be faced globally in the New Year. Here’s a snapshot of how far the world will have to climb in 2013. SYRIA To begin with the hottest…
As Europe Slowly Recovers, the US Heads off the Cliff
What at a year for the European Union. Europe has now fought its way through the worst of its fiscal crisis, and the year ahead will end up being more about recovery than austerity. It may seem strange to hoist…
Apple’s Big Manufacturing Boom to the US—200 Jobs
At the end of last week, CEO Timothy Cook announced that the company intends to invest $100 million next year to relaunch part of its manufacturing operations in the US. Apple and Foxconn, the contractor responsible for manufacturing iPhones, iPads…
The Diminishing Role of the U.S. in the Middle East
You knew something important was afoot when Israel and Hamas, the group that governs the Gaza Strip, agreed to a ceasefire in their missile-trading conflict ten days ago. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not broker this deal, as an…
EU Budget Brawl Follows Its Failed Summit
Europe will get its multi-year budget passed–and that’s a “shave my moustache” prediction—in spite of the fact that the European Union failed to reach a budget agreement at a summit in Brussels last week. We do not know the timetable…
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