The bad news from Europe isn’t the only event casting shadows over the holiday weekend. The news from Baghdad is that the negotiations between Iran and the Group of Six ended in stalemate. Given the effectiveness of the current sanctions against Tehran and the prospect of new, tougher ones coming into effect on July 1 […]

It may be a holiday weekend in the United States and much of Europe (where the Monday after the feast of Pentecost is often celebrated as a holiday), but the world’s politicians, central bankers and financiers are too busy quaking in their boots to bask in the sun.The problem is Spain, which dropped two stink […]

Does China plan to make Australia an offer it can’t refuse?Barack Obama’s historic nine-day tour of America’s Asia-Pacific allies last November inaugurated a renewed US commitment to the region. Along the way, the president made his first visit to Australia, where he left quite an impression. Addressing the Australian parliament, Obama announced an agreement to […]

Cash-strapped cities across the country from Harrisburg to Birmingham are turning to bankruptcy as a last resort. As more and more cities consider taking the plunge, we wonder whether bankruptcy will allow new ideas to put the cities back on their feet.In California, encouraging news from Vallejo: As the Washington Post reports, four years after it declared […]

This week, the European Food Safety Authority rejected an attempt by France to ban a strain of genetically modified corn. France believes the corn, introduced by St. Louis-based Monsanto and called YieldGuard, is harmful to the environment and poses a risk to human and animal health. The EU disagreed.Genetically modified foods are a contentious issue. Activists […]

It is college graduation season once again. Tens of thousands of intrepid young men and women are preparing to venture into a brave new world in which playing beer pong at one a.m. on a Wednesday night is no longer considered a point of pride. And while nine out of ten grads will be walking […]

Bad economic news in southern Europe may be about to take an even more dramatic turn. The New York Times is reporting that many Spaniards are beginning to pull their money out of Spanish banks, moving their savings to safer banks in Germany and England. Media coverage is predicting a “bank run”, a bad sign […]

Via Meadia has been watching the New York Times‘ coverage of the Wisconsin recall race with some bemusement. The race is of vital importance for anybody who wants to understand where the country is headed this year. The bill restricting public employee union collective bargaining rights set off a huge uproar, polarized Wisconsin politics, ignited […]

As the Assad regime in Syria teeters on the edge of a cliff, Iran is trying to strengthen its economic and political ties to Lebanon. While the Iranians do have their supporters among Lebanon’s poor Shia communities and in Hezbollah, many other Lebanese view the Iranians with deep suspicion.As recently as April, an enormous delegation […]

Here’s something every bit as troubling as a looming market crash: A new study commissioned by Ernst & Young found that 15 percent of 1,758 high-level managers from across the world think that an economic downturn is enough justification for using immoral and misleading business practices, a rise from 9 percent in 2010. Apparently almost one sixth […]