The Economist (May 2)
“What was once unthinkable now appears unending. Most energy traders used to assume that, even under attack, Iran would not close the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint through which almost a fifth of the world’s oil ordinarily flows.” It’s been two months since the Iran conflict broke out, “traffic in Hormuz remains near zero. Diplomatic efforts to get it flowing again are intermittent and inconclusive. Although a negotiated resolution is always possible, it is also conceivable that the strait could stay shut indefinitely.”
Tags: Attack, Chokepoint, Conceivable, Conflict, Diplomatic efforts, Energy traders, Inconclusive, Indefinitely, Intermittent, Iran, Negotiated, Oil, Resolution, Strait of Hormuz, Traffic, Unending, Unthinkable
Wall Street Journal (May 1)
In a “a potent symbol of the gathering fiscal stresses” facing America, “U.S. national debt now exceeds 100% of gross domestic product, crossing a once-unthinkable threshold, on the way toward breaking the record set in the wake of World War II.” On March 31, federal debt stood at $31.265 trillion and GDP for the year therein ended was $31.216 trillion.
Tags: 100, Debt, Fiscal stresses, GDP, Potent symbol, Record, Threshold, U.S., Unthinkable, WWII
New York Times (October 11)
What “will become of all the species the planet stands to lose… if human beings cannot halt the rate at which our climate is heating and our habitats are fragmenting and our whole planet is being poisoned?” While it is “entirely possible that we will lose them all…. It’s also not unthinkable that we will yet find a way to work together to prevent the worst calamities from unfolding.”
Tags: Calamities, Climate, Habitats, Human beings, pecies, Planet, Poisoned, Prevent, Unthinkable, Work together
Institutional Investor (January 11)
“Less than 10 percent of institutional investors currently outsource their trading desks,” but a recent survey suggests they are starting to warm to the once ‘unthinkable’ practice. “Out of the 84 traders polled, 32 percent called outsourced trading desks a ‘good solution’ for managing flow and achieving the best execution, up from 20 percent in last year’s survey.”
Tags: Execution, Flow, Institutional investors, Outsource, Survey, Traders, Trading desks, Unthinkable
CNBC (June 8)
U.S. President Donald Trump “is playing a risky game by weaponizing US economic power with tariffs…. What’s clear already is that friends and rivals are more interested than ever before in exploring alternatives to the U.S.-dominated system.” This won’t take place overnight, but “consistent overuse of U.S. economic power has made the unthinkable more plausible.”
Tags: Economic power, Plausible, Risky, Tariffs, Trump, U.S.-dominated system, Unthinkable, Weaponizing
Washington Post (December 6)
“So far, hacking has involved mostly commercial and criminal misdeeds.” Though costly, “they are a lesser danger. The real threat is hacking intended to destabilize entire societies.” Cyberwar and cyberterrorism could do unprecedented damage so “we need to think the unthinkable.” This “change in consciousness” will help us limit the risk that, for chilling example, an entity will intentionally crash the electric grid.
Tags: Commercial, Criminal, Cyberterrorism, Cyberwar, Damage, Destabilize, Electric grid, Hacking, Misdeeds, Unthinkable
