The economic news this morning is even grimmer than usual.  In Europe, the talks on restructuring Greece’s debt have broken down; officials from the lending agencies have flown home from Athens, cancelling scheduled talks and warning the Greeks that they may lose the next $11 billion of bailout money unless Greece both makes some fresh […]

Ethanol, especially in its purest Brazilian sugarcane form, was supposed to be the route to clean fuel and energy independence. Not so fast. The Financial Times reports that market pressures in Brazil, the 2nd largest producer of biofuels after the U.S., are pushing the price of ethanol above that of gasoline: In short, drivers generally […]

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi reneged on his promise to the ECB to implement a full austerity budget. The Financial Times reports: Silvio Berlusconi’s decision to backtrack on his emergency austerity budget and scrap a proposed tax on the wealthy has triggered a popular outcry while risking market confusion and fresh confrontation with the European […]

George Magnus, a senior economic advisor at UBS, has an article in Foreign Policy that connects the Arab Spring, the global financial crisis, and China’s coming economic troubles in an enlightening article. Where his argument is most interesting is in his outlook for China. Magnus writes: China’s capitalist model has delivered unprecedented economic success over […]

Move aside Big Mac Index; the Twinkie is the culinary economic indicator of the day. According to the Wall Street Journal, Hostess Brands Inc., the maker of the Twinkie, is again in financial trouble. The WSJ reports: Hostess Brands Inc. […] [having] emerged from bankruptcy protection two years ago, has once again hired restructuring advisers […]

Professor Mead is in the UK this weekend, so blogging will be turned down slightly over the next couple days. Stay tuned for posts when he returns.

In American politics, the immigration question looms large and has tremendous power over the shape of a debate or the fate of a candidate. But migration issues are hardly a uniquely American concern — the spread of instantaneous communications has made people more aware of the relative disparities between rich and poor countries.If anything, the […]

With all the courage and moral dignity that it brought to World War Two, Italy has succeeded in postponing oil sanctions against Syria until November — when current contracts expire.  That said, this craven and self-serving approach might actually turn out for the best.  Sanctions often work better as a threat than as a reality; […]

Some rare good news for President Obama: Britain and France appear to be taking responsibility for post-Ghaddafi Libya. Both countries are now expressing interest in leading the push for Libyan elections. From the Financial Times: The announcement came ahead of a summit in Paris on Libya’s future, at which Britain and France will press Libya’s […]

In late July, an Indian amphibious assault vessel 45 nautical miles off the coast of Vietnam received a strange demand over the radio. The caller identified himself as “the Chinese Navy” and requested that the Indian ship explain its presence “in Chinese waters”. As a story in today’s FT says: This latest example of China’s […]