4 Sep, 2022
Introduction LO: As always, author Simon Kuper has an interesting and a convincing perspective. I really liked the message in his last line. Also see the FT subtitle below. Or, as my mentor used to say: Everything becomes fluid under pressure (eg, my blogs of 2019 and 2020 and TU Delft). I'm less sure about the author's implicit prediction that the UK may rejoin the...
10 May, 2022
All over the world, former politicians are being handed jobs by current politicians at semi-public organizations. In my view, this explains why the European Central Bank is not following the Fed on interest levels. As a consequence, the euro is near historic lows compared to the US$. Now, we are even importing inflation. Amsterdam Airport is an important airline hub...
25 Mar, 2022
Axios Markets title: A reliable recession indicator is flashing warning signs By: Matt Phillips Date: 23 March 2022 "One of the best-known recession indicators is flashing warning signs on the economy. Yields on longer-term U.S. government bonds are in danger of slipping below yields on short-term bonds, a relatively rare occurrence known as an "inversion." Why it...
24 Mar, 2022
Axios Markets title: The world economy depends on geopolitics By: Neil Irwin Date: 15 March 2022 "These are unsettling times. Warfare in Europe. New pandemic lockdowns in China. High inflation in the U.S. that global developments stand to make worse, Axios' Neil Irwin writes. The common thread: Aspects of...
8 Feb, 2022
On 1 February 2022, the FT reported that "Japan’s population shrank by 630,000 people [in 2021], or one Luxembourg. Between now and 2040, it is forecast to have declined by a further 16mn, or one Cambodia." This news will be our new reality, following decades of doom messages on overpopulation. Labour shortages are already common, while the Covid-19 pandemic is...
18 Nov, 2020
In many countries, the belief system Politics is fighting with other belief systems (eg, Data-Info a.k.a. Big Data, Money, Religion, Science, Technology a.k.a. Big Tech, and the Truth). I think, feel and believe that this fight is similar to its death-struggle. Politics cannot win this fight as it's always divided and never united. If politics would be united...
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