Bloomberg Kenya’s economy may pay the price of opposition leader Raila Odinga’s successful bid to nullify the outcome of last month’s election, as prolonged political uncertainty pending a court-ordered rerun weighs on growth and investor confidence. “There was a lot of exuberance that the elections were over,†Kenneth Minjire, head of securities at Genghis Capital in Nairobi, said by phone. ...
Read More »Merkel pips Schulz in poll debate
Bloomberg Angela Merkel’s election opponent, Martin Schulz, failed to score a decisive breakthrough in their only televised debate as the chancellor stood firm on her record, insisting that controversial decisions on keeping the country’s borders open for refugees and striking a deal with Turkey were right. Trailing badly in the race to determine Germany’s next leader, Schulz repeatedly failed to ...
Read More »Taiwan premier quits as Tsai seeks reset ahead of elections
Bloomberg The resignation of Taiwan’s premier sets the stage for a broader reshuffle and provides President Tsai Ing-wen a chance to raise her poll numbers ahead of local elections next year. Premier Lin Chuan, who had been seen as Tsai’s chief economic policy architect, said on Monday he told the president on Sunday he would resign after passing key pieces ...
Read More »Britain was ‘stupid’ to vote for Brexit: EU official
Bloomberg The UK’s decision to leave the European Union was “stupid†and only the will of the British people can stop it, Martin Selmayr, the chief of staff to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, said. “Brexit is bad, and it’s a stupid decision,†Selmayr said at a conference in Brussels on Monday. “The only people who can reverse it would ...
Read More »Ramaphosa targeted as South Africa’s ANC succession race turns ugly
Bloomberg The race to lead South Africa’s ruling party is turning increasingly nasty. Allegations that Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, a front-runner for the post, had extra-marital affairs with at least eight women and paid expenses for some of them were splashed across the front page of the Sunday Independent, which cited Ramaphosa’s private emails to back up the story. It ...
Read More »Why so many people still support Donald Trump
A week ago I expressed the hope that President Donald Trump’s lamentable performance after the Charlottesville protests would hurt his standing in the polls. This didn’t happen. If there was a blip, it was in the other direction. I’d be pleased if Trump’s regrettable decision to pardon former sheriff Joe Arpaio dented his popularity, too, but I’m not holding my ...
Read More »Is the stock market crazy—or just giddy?
William Cline is going against the grain. Cline, a well-known economist, isn’t convinced that the stock market is wildly overvalued. That’s an increasingly lonely view. “Warning Signs Mount as Stocks Stumble,” The Wall Street Journal headlined earlier this week. “Investors are running out of reasons to keep buying US stocks, exposing a growing number of warning signs,” the Journal wrote. ...
Read More »A win for democracy, with automatic registration
Want some good news? Illinois has become the 10th state with some form of automatic voter registration. Most of those are Democratic states, but in Illinois a Republican governor signed the bill, and Georgia, Alaska and West Virginia have adopted this reform as well. (An 11th state, North Dakota, doesn’t have voter registration at all.) So it’s not entirely partisan. ...
Read More »Britain must accept the hard truth about Brexit
Britain’s exit talks with the European Union resume—following the release of position papers on what the UK government intends, and a notable change of approach by the opposition Labour Party. Up to a point, these developments are encouraging, but the basic problem remains: Prime Minister Theresa May’s government is moving far too slowly. The UK has now officially embraced the ...
Read More »India and China learn how to turn down the heat
As summer reached the high Himalayas this past June, one corner of the mountains turned hotter than expected. On a small plateau called Doklam, close to where the India-China border meets the tiny kingdom of Bhutan, two of the largest armies in the world faced off against each other. Chinese soldiers, convinced they were on Chinese territory, had brought equipment ...
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