Washington Post (May 17)
With May “more than half over,” Russia’s Plan B is clearly “fizzling” with a notable retreat from Kharkiv. Russia “now appears to be aiming to take, at most, the entirety of a single Ukrainian region, Luhansk. And even that might be beyond the capability of Russia’s depleted, poorly led forces.” Instead, “a widening Ukrainian counteroffensive” might succeed in bringing “more of the Russian-held south and east of Ukraine back under the control of its legitimate government.”
Tags: Control, Counteroffensive, Depleted, Fizzling, Government, Kharkiv, Legitimate, Luhansk, May, Plan B, Retreat, Russia, Ukraine
New York Times (August 21)
“The speed and scope of the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan has prompted introspection in the West over what went wrong…. China, though, is looking forward. It is ready to step into the void left by the hasty U.S. retreat to seize a golden opportunity.”
Tags: Afghanistan, China, Hasty, Introspection, Opportunity, Retreat, Scope, Speed, Takeover, Taliban, U.S., Void
The Economist (January 30)
“No part of the world matters more to America’s interests than Asia, and no part stands to lose so much from an American retreat.” As he sets about repairing four years of Trump damage, Joe Biden will find many receptive. “None of China’s neighbours wants it to call all the military and economic shots,” but “the trick for President Joe Biden will be to restore faith in America without asking Asian countries to take its side openly against China.”
Tags: Asia, Biden, China, Damage, Economic shots, Interests, Military, Receptive, Repairing, Restore, Retreat, Trump, U.S.
Bloomberg (October 25)
“Thanks partly to the plunging costs of renewable energy… coal is in rapid retreat all over the world.” It is “dying faster than anybody expected” and not just in America’s heartland. “The profitability of coal-fired power is plunging” in Germany and “demand is dying even in Southeast Asia, long seen as a sort of industry firewall.”
Tags: Coal, Costs, Germany, Heartland, Plunging, Profitability, Renewable energy, Retreat, Southeast Asia
Wall Street Journal (October 12)
“President Trump prides himself on one-on-one diplomacy, but too often it results in rash and damaging decisions like his abrupt order Sunday for U.S. troops to retreat from northern Syria. Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan is now dictating terms to the American President, and the consequences are likely to be felt far beyond Syria and Turkey.”
Tags: Abrupt, Damaging, Decisions, Diplomacy, Erdogan, Pride, Rash, Retreat, Syria, Troops, Trump, Turkey, U.S.
New York Times (August 12)
“In a purely rational world, Japan would lead a democratic alliance with South Korea, Taiwan and much of Southeast Asia to balance the might of China. In a world fueled by historical passions, America’s retreat will almost certainly drive South Korea even closer to China, while Japan… might pull back behind its sea walls, hoping to be left alone by untrustworthy alien powers.”
Tags: China, Democratic alliance, Japan, Might, Passions, Rational, Retreat, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, U.S.
Bloomberg (June 10)
“Pity Europe’s banks. For years, they have been in retreat, losing business in their own back yards to Wall Street rivals. Now the battlefront is shifting – but what looks like an opportunity to gain ground may be just the opposite…. Shackled by sluggish economic growth at home and record-low interest rates that are crushing margins, European firms have been unable to compete with U.S. rivals in trading and capital markets. Those same dynamics look set to play out again in transaction banking,” which is set to displace fixed income as the largest revenue driver by 2020.
Tags: Banks, Battlefront, Capital markets, Economic growth, Europe, Fixed income, Interest rates, Margins, Retreat, Rivals, Trading, Transaction banking, U.S., Wall Street
Washington Post (August 14)
“Even in a world where the United States’ military and diplomatic power seems to be in retreat, there is an element of the U.S.-led order that’s as strong as ever — our dominance of the global economy.” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey “may think he can bluff his way through the Brunson crisis, but Turkish banks, construction companies and bondholders know better. In the still-global economy, going it alone really isn’t an option… This summer, as ever, we sink or swim together.”
Tags: Banks, Bondholders, Brunson, Construction, Crisis, Diplomatic, Dominance, Erdogan, Global economy, Military, Power, Retreat, Turkey, U.S.
The Independent (January 31)
“There’s still time for a Suez style retreat from Brexit… There is no cosmic law mandating the continuation of a folly simply because it is begun; no rule of primogeniture giving an older expression of the democratic will precedence over any that might follow…. an epochal global humiliation is a far smaller price to pay than 8 per cent, 5 per cent or even 2 per cent of GDP.”
Tags: Brexit, Democratic will, Folly, GDP, Global humiliation, Retreat, Suez
The Economist (October 3)
“Shell’s retreat from the frozen north shows the new realities of ‘big oil.’” Shell announced its withdrawal from exploration in the Chukchi Sea where it had already invested $7 billion on a single exploratory well. “The decision boiled down to costs, financial and reputational. Most big oil firms face similar pressures” and appear likely postpone costly Arctic drilling.
Tags: Arctic drilling, Big oil, Chukchi Sea, Exploration, Reputation, Retreat, Shell