Recent Posts

Romania’s war on graft got old

  Nobody likes corruption, but when fighting it becomes the focus of politics and policy, voters can quickly tire of this. The Romanian Social Democrats proved it on Sunday by winning a landslide election victory a year after its leaders were seemingly disgraced in a string of corruption scandals. The Social Democratic Party, led by Liviu Dragnea, won some 45 ...

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Middle-Class angst depressing Swiss watch sales

  Stagnant wage growth for the global middle class has been cited for everything from the rise of Donald Trump, the UK vote to leave the European Union and the referendum that prompted the resignation of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. I’d like to add a business victim to the list: Switzerland’s luxury watch industry. The most basic Rolex Oyster ...

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How to make this stock-market rally last

  The outcome of the Italian referendum last week added to the political, economic and financial uncertainty facing Europe, the world’s largest economic region. Nonetheless, global equity markets shrugged off the turbulence even more quickly than they overcame the shock of the Brexit vote in June. As a result, US indexes have surged to new highs, adding to an impressive ...

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