The Economist (April 2)
With rising anxiety, free trade has become “a touchstone issue in America’s presidential election.” Candidates across the spectrum are stepping back from free trade, if not outright attacking it. “Freer trade was one of the engines of the prosperous decades following the second world war, in America and beyond. Yet mainstream politicians are now not only afraid to champion it, they pour fuel on the fire. That is lamentable. Free trade still deserves full-throated support, even if greater care needs to be taken of those it hurts.”
Tags: Anxiety, Candidates, Champion, Election, Free trade, Lamentable, Support, U.S.
USA Today (December 26)
“America has much to be cocky about.” It has frequently been the world leader “and its entrepreneur-driven economy is again the envy of the world.” Nevertheless, the U.S. is plagued by “fear and anxiety. If you didn’t know better, you’d think this was a nation of wimps.” Whether it’s ebola or terrorism, today’s outsized fears “need to be tempered. The world’s greatest and most powerful nation deserves people who exhibit backbone and have the confidence to live by their principles.”
Tags: Anxiety, Backbone, Confidence, Ebola, Economy, Entrepreneur, Fear, Leader, Terrorism, U.S., Wimps
Financial Times (October 31)
“In the past 10 years, South America never had it so good” as economies soared, fortunes were made and poverty fell. Now, however, “there is a new sense of anxiety” as China’s economy slows and commodity prices drop. “Like all good things… the party is ending.”
Tags: Anxiety, China, Commodity prices, Economy, Fortunes, Poverty, South America
