It is now clear that Germany needs to invest a lot more money in defense. Friedrich Merz, who is likely to be Germany’s next chancellor, has yet to come up with a plan to do this.
Tag: economy
Economic crisis and higher inflation in Egypt have prompted many young married people to abandon the idea of having children. And if they decide to have children, they just want one or two at most to be able to provide them a decent life.
The U.S. automaker is struggling with a severe drop in sales. This is, of course, partly due to its CEO Elon Musk’s cahooting with President Donald Trump. But there is something else going on.
Burkina Faso, Mali And Niger, three military-led Sahel countries, recently withdrew from the ECOWAS regional bloc and established a new military alliance to tackle jihadist violence in the region. But the new forces’ prospects for success are slim.
Currently, the majority of Turkey’s fish currently comes from cultivation, also known as fish farming, compared to just 10% two decades ago. The short-sightedness of this shift risks eliminating fishing output from both the farms and the open seas along Turkey’s 5,200 miles of coastline.
The post-liberal world needs an added dose of cautious and realistic diplomacy, and the United States remains its natural promoter. Yet there is little evidence, for now, that the Trump administration has an interest in diplomacy to keep the collective peace.
Life has resumed its course in the large industrial city in central China, where the virus first appeared at the end of 2019. Five years after confinement, the 14 million people of Wuhan are drowning in economic difficulties. Meanwhile, China has erased this period from its history.
The government is pushing for cleaner fuel options. But costs and traditions stand in the way of change.
As China slowed down after the COVID-19 pandemic, this modest supermarket chain from Henan seems to have found the magic formula to encourage Chinese consumers to shop. Pangdonglai is so successful that it has become a national tourist attraction.
Zambia is as generous with patients from neighboring Zimbabwe as it is with its own citizens. That could mean problems for both countries.
Europe’s electric car battery dreams are crumbling. From halted construction to creditor protection filings, the once-promising industry is on the brink of collapse. Meanwhile the incoming Trump administration says it plans to undo Biden-era policies supporting electric vehicles and emissions standards.
Amid the chaos of the collapsing Assad regime, the businessmen who were close to power know they are at risk.
Ecuador’s exceptional Galapagos archipelago has been at the heart of an ambitious decades-long preservation policy to protect its unique fauna from too many visitors. Could it serve as a model for others for how to resist overtourism?
T’is the season to spend money — but is there a way of lessening the “pain of paying”? Economist Jay L. Zagorsky shares his thoughts — and preference for cold, hard cash.
Having long been the driving force of the European Union, France and Germany are facing multiple crises simultaneously, threatening the balance of their relationship. It couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Shein, a Chinese retailer, has rapidly risen to compete with the likes of H&M and Zara — and even Amazon. But now France is leading the West’s crackdown on the questionable practices of so-called “fast fashion.” Here’s deep look inside the company’s working and sourcing practices.
With a population of more than 200 million, Nigeria is facing a series of crises: an economy at its lowest, endemic corruption and insecurity throughout a large part of the country. Despite the challenges it faces and its history of military coups, the country is holding firm, but for how long?
U.S. President-elect Trump has tasked billionaire businessman Elon Musk with making the government cost-efficient. That may be an admirable objective, but the ideology driving it is wrong-headed… and dangerous.
For the past two decades, Norway has developed an industrial and tourist sector around the king crab, a giant crustacean whose leg span can exceed two meters. But this boon for the economy of the great Norwegian north is now in more than a pinch.
China’s economy is doing badly. The party leadership will not tolerate criticism of its course, but is looking for ways out of the crisis. These five problems could hinder China’s growth for a long time.
Cuba’s current energy crisis is a dramatic illustration, symbolic and otherwise, of the overall downfall of a country that could have followed the successful models of its Asian cousins. Faced with a socioeconomic dead-end, record numbers of Cubans are fleeing the country.
Updated Oct. 29, 2024 at 12:20 p.m. The New York Stock Exchange crashed in what was later dubbed “Black Tuesday”, beginning the Great Depression, on this day in 1928. What led to Black Tuesday? The Crash of 1929 was the result of a complex set of factors, including excessive speculation in the stock market, overvalued […]
Should the U.S. revive nuclear power to satisfy the growing electricity demands of artificial intelligence? The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant offers a cautionary tale of technology outpacing expertise.
China’s real estate crisis is hitting small, unattractive cities like Shaoguan hard. This city of 3.3 million residents in the far south of the country has a stock of empty apartments that could take 10 years to sell.
Ten years after the launch of the Modi’s “Make in India” program, India’s industry problem has deepened — just like its dependence to China.
Germany is trying to avoid tariffs on Chinese electric cars because it is interested in selling its own cars to China — and wants to avoid direct confrontation. But the European Union has decided to impose new tariffs. All of this may wind up as a full-fledged new trade war between China and Germany.
Women who are garment workers for well-known European labels face frequent gender-based violent harassment, caste-based discrimination, wage theft, forced termination, and other forms of labor and human rights violations. The laws simply don’t help.
Chilean winemakers are promoting their celebrated wines in several key markets for consumer spending power: the United States and China are already saturated with every kind of wine. But now India must be a focus despite crushing tariffs.
Updated September 23, 2024 at 11:30 a.m. On this day in 2017, women were allowed to enter the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the first time ever. The women attended the stadium’s 87th anniversary celebrations and a qualifying World Cup match. Were there any restrictions or conditions for women attending the […]
The resurgence of China’s richest tech billionaire might seem like a positive signal of a more permissive market environment. But it’s worth remembering that Beijing remains the ultimate authority to regulate and mobilise market resources.
A milk-free vegan version of the famous Nutella spread hits the shelves this week in three European countries. With this move, the Italian company Ferrero that makes it intends to triple sales of its chocolate plant-based category within a year, across all brands.
Updated August 30, 2024 at 11:20 a.m. American business magnate Warren Buffet was born on this day in 1930. Who is Warren Buffet? Warren Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a multinational conglomerate holding company. Buffett is often regarded as one of the […]
Over the past five years, tuk-tuk prices have soared because of a government ban on importing the vehicle, and the inflation waves that rocked the Arab world’s most populous country. But tuk-tuks are not only a preferred system of transport, they are also a source of income for a large part of the Egyptian population — and the price hikes are crushing many young people’s dreams.
Young people have played a pivotal role in bringing down Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, offering hope of a bottom-up transition to democracy for the South Asian country. The army has promised an all-party inclusive interim government, but will youth leaders be invited to the decision-making table?
Bolivian President Luis Arce easily survived Wednesday’s bungled coup, which may suggest the populist Left is more resilient than it used to be. But it may also be the foreshadowing of the reigniting of an internal war with fellow Socialist and former President Evo Morales as unrest spreads around the country.
Our battle to keep local stores open, despite the evolution of our consumption habits, may just be the expression of nostalgia of a rural dream that is gone. Or is it really?
Venezuela and its neighbors are nervously waiting to see if President Maduro and his clique will soon hold a fair election, or cling onto power, fueling more despair and unleashing yet another migratory wave over the region.
Just across the border from Israel, the Kingdom of Jordan is feeling the effects of the war with both the most personal and economic ramifications.
Cedar trees across Mongolia bear the wounds of an illegal market for their prized nuts.
Britain’s prime minister has announced a surprise decision to hold a general election six months early, on July 4.