The Economist (October 6)
“Europe has caught China’s eye. Chinese investments there have soared, to nearly €36bn ($40bn) in 2016—almost double the previous years’ total…. For the most part, this money is welcome….. However, China is also using its financial muscle to buy political influence…. It is only prudent for Europeans to be nervous.”
Tags: China, Europe, Financial muscle, Investments, Nervous, Political influence, Prudent
Wall Street Journal (September 19)
“If Mr. Trump wants to change Chinese behavior, he should first finish a new Nafta, drop his blunderbuss steel tariffs on allies, forget new auto tariffs, negotiate a zero tariff deal with Europe, and re-enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership.” Then he could “lead a coalition to confront Xi Jinping from a position of strength with targeted trade enforcement rather than scattershot tariffs. The real worry is that Mr. Trump supports tariffs for their own sake, and he may not want a China deal. With Donald Trump and trade, you never know.”
The Economist (August 18)
“It is not just in Italy that questions should be asked about monitoring and maintenance regimes. Bridges throughout Europe, America and Asia are all showing signs of deterioration…. With the world covered in reinforced concrete, this is a problem that spans countries. The failure of the Morandi bridge shows that it must not be ignored.”
Tags: Asia, Bridges, Deterioration, Europe, Failure, Italy, Maintenance, Monitoring, Morandi, Reinforced concrete, U.S.
New York Times (July 12)
“Sorry, NATO. Trump doesn’t believe in allies. Europe has to understand that in the American president’s twisted worldview, there are only fans and enemies.” European are “doomed if they think the issue now is how to salvage their alliance with the United States. The time for that has passed…. The challenge now for the leaders of Europe is learn to live in a world where America has no allies.”
Forbes (July 9)
“Investors seem willing to bet that the near-term winner of the trade war is Trump. However, the detrimental effects of an escalating trade war are being considered by central bankers here and in Europe. The negative impact mainly comes from a worsening in business sentiment and corporate investment.”
Tags: Business sentiment, Central bankers, Corporate investment, Europe, Investors, Negative impact, Trade war, Trump, U.S., Winner
Financial Times (June 26)
U.S. “intelligence agencies have for several years identified cyber threats as a bigger risk than terrorism.” Though huge, the threat is little understood. Such is “the opacity of cyber space that the risks of massive miscalculation resulting in catastrophic escalation” are “hair-raisingly high” and the “ultimate nightmare” is “that we might sleepwalk into a cyber-Armageddon, just as Europe’s political leaders had stumbled into the first world war.”
Tags: Cyber threats, Escalation, Europe, Intelligence, Miscalculation, Nightmare, Risk, Sleepwalk, Terrorism, U.S., WW1
Time (June 18)
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces a political crisis that could reshape Europe’s migration crisis and potentially end her ten years in power” as a standoff “over Germany’s liberal migration policies threatens to collapse the fragile coalition that Merkel presides over.”
Tags: Coalition, Collapse, Europe, Germany Merkel, Migration, Political crisis, Standoff
The Guardian (May 13)
“The American president has thrown into confusion old alliances and imperilled Middle Eastern peace.” His “stark rejection of the multilateral 2015 nuclear deal with Iran poses complex and momentous challenges for Europe, and the UK in particular. This reckless US action upsets the geopolitical furniture in troubling ways. The European democracies now find themselves at odds with their principal ally on an issue of fundamental importance to their security and to peace in the Middle East. By insisting they will uphold the Iran deal… European countries have embarked on a collision course with Washington.”
Tags: Alliances, Ally, Collision course, Confusion, Europe, Iran, Middle East, Nuclear deal, Peace, Reckless, Rejection, U.S., UK
Washington Post (April 18)
“Nothing like this has happened in human history…. Men outnumber women by 70 million in China and India.” The results are “far-reaching: Beyond an epidemic of loneliness, the imbalance distorts labor markets, drives up savings rates in China and drives down consumption, artificially inflates certain property values, and parallels increases in violent crime, trafficking or prostitution.” Moreover the consequences extend all the way to Europe and the U.S.
Tags: China, Consequences, Consumption, Distortions, Europe, Imbalance, India, Labor markets, Loneliness, Men, Property values, Savings, U.S., Violent crime, Women
Scientific American (April 11)
The Atlantic Ocean appears be in “slow motion,” with circulation now the “weakest in 1,600 years.” If further research bears out the conclusion that “hemisphere-spanning currents are slowing, greater flooding and extreme weather could be at hand,” especially on the U.S. east coast, but possibly extending to Europe, which could battle more severe heat waves.
Tags: Atlantic, Circulation, Currents, Europe, Extreme weather, Flooding, Heat waves, Ocean, Slowing, U.S.