October, 2016

• 5 October

  ‘Quiet catastrophe’ of men choosing to not seek work

  

    The “quiet catastrophe” is particularly dismaying because it is so quiet, without social turmoil or even debate. It is this: After 88 consecutive months of the economic expansion that began in June 2009, a smaller percentage of American males in the prime working years (ages 25 to 54) are working than were working near the end of the Great ...

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• 5 October

  A lonelier UK is sending foreign doctors home

    The UK has put foreign doctors on notice: Their services will soon no longer be required. The government of Prime Minister Theresa May announced plans on Tuesday to make the National Health Service “self-sufficient” in the next decade. For a nation trying to burnish its image as an open and forward-looking society even as it cuts ties with Europe, ...

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• 5 October

  Hacking isn’t the voting system’s biggest problem

    Donald Trump keeps saying that the U.S. presidential election is rigged. Unlikely as this is, the perception of a hacked vote may be more dangerous than the reality. Last week, a Homeland Security Department official revealed that hackers had been poking around in the voter registration systems of more than 20 states. An earlier FBI memo disclosed ongoing investigations ...

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• 5 October

  Online wildlife trade needs coordinated fight

    The online illegal wildlife trade is a roaring business today. And despite laws to stop the unholy practice, it goes on unabated. From cheetahs and bears to snakes, monkeys and mynahs, some websites advertise sale of exotic animals in blatant disregard of legislations and with unthinkable impunity. In 2014, a probe found that around 33,006 endangered wildlife and wildlife ...

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• 5 October

  US corporate-tax reform is just around the corner

  

    For all the partisan squabbling in this bizarre election year, a consensus has emerged in one important area: The U.S. corporate-tax system is broken. No matter who wins on Nov. 8, there’s surprising agreement that change is coming. To get ready, think tanks are pumping out reform proposals, tax experts are updating their research and Congress is holding hearings. ...

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• 5 October

  Breaking the spell that grips the economics field

  Back in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis, there were a lot of people criticizing macroeconomics, and rightly so. Macro models had failed to include finance, and thus had failed to spot the warning signs in the runup to the crisis. Overconfident macroeconomists had declared that the “central problem of depression-prevention has been solved,” only to be caught flat-footed by ...

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• 5 October

  Putin’s ultimatum to the next US president

  

    The next US administration will inherit the worst relationship with Russia since Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union an evil empire. Judging from the list of grievances that President Vladimir Putin has laid out, even a relatively Putin-friendly Donald Trump will have a hard time satisfying him. Putin delivered his message to the future U.S. president Monday, just as ...

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• 5 October

  European stocks retreat on ECB policy fears

  

  London / AFP European stock markets retreated on Wednesday on speculation that the ECB is mulling plans to taper its vast economic stimulus that aims to prop up the eurozone economy. The European Central Bank has rebutted a Bloomberg report on Tuesday of an “informal consensus” among ECB policymakers that the guardian of the euro should gradually scale back its ...

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• 5 October

  Saudi telcos diverge, rest of region weak

    Dubai / Reuters Saudi Arabia’s top three telecommunication operators suffered mixed fortunes on Wednesday after all three had risen in heavy trade the previous day while other markets in the region sagged. Mobile Telecommunication Company (Zain KSA) jumped 6.8 percent, taking its gains since Sunday to 17 percent. Its chief competitor Saudi Telecom (STC) retreated 2.8 percent on Wednesday ...

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• 5 October

  US stocks rebound as crude-oil rally spurs broader advance

    Bloomberg U.S. stocks rose as a rally in crude oil boosted energy producers, overshadowing concerns that central banks could begin to tighten monetary policy. The S&P 500 Index rose 0.3 percent to 2,157.02 at 9:33 a.m. in New York, after two days of losses following hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials. Equity markets have seen a revival of volatility ...

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