German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich announced Friday that the government would begin deporting poor Bulgarians and Romanians who had moved to the country to take advantage of the generous welfare benefits. According to Spiegel: The issue was prompted by complaints from German communities claiming that an increasing number of people are arriving from Romania and Bulgaria […]

After 17 hours of negotiations at the “peace village” of Panmunjom, North and South Korean representatives agreed to hold further talks at the ministerial level, the highest level of dialogue between the two countries in six years. Reports suggest that these talks will take place in Seoul later this week. Reportedly up for discussion are the resumption […]

Americans with a million dollars or less in savings will probably outlive their nest eggs, says the NYT: For people close to retirement, the problem is acute. The conventional financial advice is that the older you get, the more you should put into bonds, which are widely considered safer than stocks. But consider this bleak picture: […]

Japan’s growth rate over this year’s first quarter was revised up to 1 percent yesterday, at an annualized rate of 4.1 percent. This is remarkable news for a country that has struggled to post strong economic growth in recent years. Compare the annualized rate of 4.1 percent to the expected rate of just 3.5 percent, […]

Over the weekend, presidents Obama and Xi met in California for eight hours of talks about the future of the US-China relationship. The venue, the Sunnylands estate, has been described as opulent, even palatial, but the talks themselves struck a more informal tone. The FT reports: The breadth of the talks and their timing, at the start […]

World news this week was dominated by protests that erupted in Turkey. When riot police attacked a peaceful sit-in in Istanbul, people in cities across the country marched in defiance, shouting “down with Erdogan” and other slogans against Turkey’s strong and conservative leader. Things have quieted down significantly but still there is unrest.Elsewhere in the […]

The Golden State’s power supply is struggling to keep up with demand, and the state was just hit with some bad news on that front last week. One utility announced on Friday that it would not be reopening a shuttered nuclear facility in Southern California. The San Onofre nuclear plant was closed last year over safety […]

Venezuela may soon be forced to add hyperinflation to its list of socialist disasters. The FT reports that price rises last month hit an all time high while the economy careens into recession: Prices rose 6.1 per cent in May, compared with 1.6 per cent in the same period last year, bringing accumulated inflation for […]

Narendra Modi has been chosen to lead India’s main opposition party’s campaign in next year’s presidential race. The charismatic, controversial chief minister of Gujarat is a rising star in the BJP party, and as India’s election season picks up pace, no doubt we’re going to see more of him.But the “deeply divisive” figure—as the BBC […]

Malls and big box stores are beginning to look like a relic of the past. Retail is getting an overhaul, as companies are figuring out that, by peddling their goods online, they can save on real estate costs and give their customers the flexibility to shop whenever they feel so inclined.Companies like Frank & Oak […]