Recent Posts

China couldn’t sustain growing like mad forever

China, not the US, is the world’s largest economy. Though the US still tops when measured at market-exchange rates, China is about 20 percent larger after adjusting for the lower cost of goods and services there. The latter metric is what really counts, both in terms of standards of living and, probably, in terms of military purchasing power. With four ...

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ECB must stop the rot in Italian bonds

“Whatever it takes.” Those three symbolic words were uttered by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi in July 2012, and European bonds have benefited hugely from the “Draghi put” ever since. Italy has revived existential questions about the bloc. The latest twist in this drama looks to be the agreement between Five Star and the League on a prime minister, ...

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Zuckerberg won only half the battle in Brussels

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had two priorities heading into a hearing at the European Parliament on Tuesday. First, he had to avoid a serious gaffe that could be replayed again and again as a soundbite on the evening news. Second, he had to convince lawmakers that Facebook Inc. is doing enough to counter fake news, foreign interventions into elections and ...

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