Georgia could be next target for Russian invasion

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Arriving in the middle of the night at my Tbilisi hotel recently for a research project, I was told that my reservation had been rescinded and the hotel was now fully booked. A huge busload of Russian men had arrived at the hotel before me and were willing to pay more than the advertised price. […]

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Truss must heed Abe’s ghost, not Thatcher’s

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TOKYO – As Liz Truss riffs on Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, a more recent failed experiment with supply-side economics leaps to relevance from the region: Japan’s so-called “Abenomics.”

Last week made for an intriguing split screen. On one half, moves by the new – and already embattled – UK prime minister to cut taxes for the nation’s top 1% fell flat in global markets. On the other, a state funeral for former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who had bet his legacy on a similar fiscal maneuver.

To be sure, Truss is backtracking on her tax cut plans to scrap the 45% income tax rate – for now, at least. But these zombie ideas never really die. Odds are, Team Truss – led by Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng – will try his ploy again presented in more palatable clothing. And soon.

The rise and fall of Abe’s legend as a great reformer sheds light on why gilt traders just aren’t having the Truss government’s reversion to Thatchernomics. The crux of the problem: just like Abe’s 2012-2020 tenure in Tokyo, Truss in London has a 1985 problem on her hands.

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