27 Sep, 2023
Country risk used to be a somewhat minor risk management issue in banking. Today, it has become a major issue in business' supply-chain management due to China (eg, zero-Covid policy) and Russia (eg, sanctions and nationalizations following invasion of Ukraine). Hence, this recent Bloomberg comment: "Hard evidence is now emerging that all the discussions of strained...
18 Sep, 2023
Until about a year ago, many articles claimed that China would surpass the USA as an (economic) SuperPower. I never believed those articles. China did and does not meet the SuperPower criteria. Today, many articles assume that USA may not be surpassed. I doubt that too. The Roman Empire was - probably - the first global empire. Alternatively, it was a multi-regional...
28 Aug, 2023
The Telegraph title: Putin has signed his name on the wrong piece of paper this time Telegraph subtitle: Get ready for the flood of kompromat By: Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon OBE Date: 24 August 2023 "As Vladimir Putin sits thinking in his bomb-proof office, he may come to regret the fact that the entire world is sure that he ordered the death of the...
16 Aug, 2023
Axios Markets: Maybe strongmen aren't great at running economies By: Matt Phillips and Emily Peck Date: 15 August 2023 "In the battle between strongmen and democracies, elected governments are pulling ahead — at least economically, Matt writes. Why it matters: After the financial crisis of 2008 hobbled the U.S. and much of the West, China's strong...
27 Jul, 2023
Last Sunday's blog, Panic in Beijing and its original Bloomberg article, made me realize that there is a difference between business and politics that is easily overlooked. Unlike businessmen, politicians are not allowed to make serious errors, especially in countries like China. Despite that seeing is believing, (communist) ideology is (much) stronger than seeing....
25 Jul, 2023
If all warfare is - indeed - based on deception, would disinformation then qualify as lying? A simple answer would be a Yes. A complex answer would first look at human intentions. It could be argued that the victim has good intentions (eg, survival), while the aggressor has bad intentions. “All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack,...
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