Opinion

China continues to militarize the South China Sea, with the manifest intention of making its claim of sovereignty thereto impossible to challenge. China has made clear that it does not plan to accept a likely unfavorable decision, forthcoming in a month or so, by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. Moreover, China has so far refused to discuss …

  In a bid to reduce the impact of pollution on public health, governments worldwide have begun to take serious measures to check the fouling of the air in congested cities. Some of these steps would rock many industries and affect livelihood of many people at certain point. The current global crackdown on pollution will not only improve public health, …

  Mark Whitehouse How did the U.S. economy perform under President Barack Obama? Better than it could have, but still poorly enough to leave a lot of people unhappy. Obama’s economic track record has come under renewed scrutiny as the race to replace him heats up. Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has called the economy “already reasonably crippled.” Obama, in a …

  As in any U.S. national election without an incumbent president, the candidates are painting a not very pretty picture: The country is “going to hell,” bluntly asserts the Republican front-runner Donald Trump. The Democratic challenger, Senator Bernie Sanders, isn’t much kinder and even Hillary Clinton is starting to focus more on challenges than successes. To many voters the message …

The biggest misconception about next month’s referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union is that it will put the issue to rest. That’s unlikely. Whichever way the vote goes, Brexit isn’t going away. The referendum on Scottish independence is a good guide to what’s coming. Scots in 2014 voted with their heads not their hearts to stay in the …

Barry Ritholtz It is never wise to ignore market, economic or voter sentiment. Discount it, yes. Put it into broader context, for sure. But ignore it at your peril. As too many retailers, fund managers and politicians have discovered, the public is often a good barometer of what is occurring in the broader economy. But not always: the public can …

  Samridhi Pant SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS Over the past six months, the Nepal Army (NA) has stepped up its engagement with the country’s economy. First, in December 2015, the NA declared that it will invest in a hydropower project for the first time. Then, on March 2016, the NA – in another first — got permission from the government …

Last week, Donald Trump gave a long awaited speech on foreign policy at the Center for the National Interest (CFTNI) in Washington, D.C., laying out what he characterized as “a new foreign policy direction.” While the foreign policy views of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party’s front runner, are well known–she is a firm believer in the continuation and spread of …

  The G7 energy ministers in Japan again reflected on the issue of power. They agreed on Monday to step up energy security and boost investment to counter price instability caused by the fall in crude oil prices. Ministers from Japan, Canada, Germany, Italy, the US, Britain and France and representatives from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and The International …

  Sara Hsu SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS Despite China’s downturn, its automobile industry is performing well, as may be surmised from the enthusiasm generated at the Beijing Auto Show and, of course, sales statistics. Auto sales have been on the rise, growing 4.7 percent in 2015 from 2014, with passenger cars making up the lion’s share of purchases. Auto sales …