On August 24, Ukraine’s Independence Day, the US provided a $3 billion military aid package to the country. This adds to more than $80 billion worth of support that Kiev has already received between January 24 and August 3, the majority of which was provided by the US, the UK, and the European Union. In addition to gaining […]
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Tourism destinations globally are seeing a significant hit to their economies as Russians stay at home due to war-related sanctions, with possible long-term effects on international tourism. This comes as European countries with Russian borders say they may ban all Russian tourists. Russians were the world’s seventh biggest tourist spenders before the pandemic, splashing out […]
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The seven-month war in Ukraine and the role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, especially the Atlanticist powers, are fueled by an official Western narrative that depicts the conflict as one between the plucky little Ukrainian David and the brutish Goliath that is Russia. According to this narrative, the invasion is as unwarranted as it […]
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When the school year began in Afghanistan in March 2022, journalists were poised to cover the return of girls to secondary education. Taliban leaders in Kabul had committed to allowing separate education for girls so long as they followed the Taliban-mandated dress code. Instead, the cameras recorded disappointed girls being sent back home. In that case […]
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In mid-August, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs produced news with a series of announcements. Wang Yi, Beijing’s most senior diplomat, promised intensive debt relief for some from the world’s poorest nations. The announcement has been made at the ministerial meeting of the Forum for China Africa Cooperation. In addition to raising food assistance to the continent, […]
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Anyone who has ever glanced at a dictionary sees that a word can have more than one definition. The English word “ labor, ” for example , evokes work in a few contexts (“ labor of love” ) and unions in others (“ labour leader” ). The particular American holiday called Labor Day demonstrates the word’ t fluidity. The holiday was created at the urging […]
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In another step aimed at stifling China’s technological advance, the US Department of Commerce has decided to restrict shipments of advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) designed by American companies NVIDIA and AMD to China. The US government says it is worried about potential military applications of these products. GPUs are a type of integrated circuit […]
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TOKYO – Naturally, US Federal Reserve officials act with the best interest of the American economy in mind. Yet the actions of US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and his team are playing into China’s hands in unexpected and impactful ways.
Case in point: The outperformance of China’s sovereign bonds, which in August grabbed the top spot in global performance rankings.
The immediate explanation is a widening policy divergence between the Fed and the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). But between the lines are growing indications that the trajectory of Fed interest rates may be a short-term positive but a long-term negative.
Right now, the Fed’s war on inflation is sending the dollar soaring at the worst possible moment for economies from Latin America to Europe to Asia.
The yen’s transcending 140 to the dollar for the first time since 1998 is the most recent ominous milestone. That follows the euro’s return to 20-year lows. This chaos isn’t confined to the top-three currencies, as evidenced by the Indian rupee about to hit 80 to the dollar.
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In the latest blow to Australia’s ambitious plans to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, overstretched US and UK shipyards may not be able to supply Canberra with the boats within the decade as outlined in the three sides’ AUKUS agreement, according to reports in late August. At a recent Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies seminar, US Navy […]
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Russia is using its dominance of the European oil and gas market, where it accounts for 40% of EU gas consumption, to attempt to reduce support for Ukraine. To ramp up that pressure ahead of the winter, Russia has closed off the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany from August 31 to September 3 – […]
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