In The News

BBC: UK Ready for No-Deal Brexit?

Chris Morris February 1, 2019
The United Kingdom, as an EU member, shares four decades of laws on trade, immigration, finance, health and safety, and more. If the EU and the UK part ways with no deal or extension for the negotiations and if the UK does not prepare replacement laws, that could pose uncertainty and serious disruption in most policy areas, reports Chris Morris for the BBC news. The report outlines progress on...

BBC: France Activates No-Deal Brexit Plan

January 17, 2019
Cooperation on complex trade, financial and security relationships requires compromise. Brexit’s most vehement supporters did not realize that leaving the European Union would still require compromise. Britain, as one member among 28 nations and representing about 16 percent of the European Union’s total GDP, lacks leverage. Agreement of all EU members is required for any deal. The British...

Guardian: May Endures Historic Defeat

Andrew Sparrow January 15, 2019
The United Kingdom scrambles on what to do next after Parliament soundly rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plan. After a campaign of misleading information and interference by foreign interests, British voters narrowly approved exit from the European Union in June 2016. Numerous trade, security and immigration agreements formed over the course of decades have long guided British...

Spiegel: Germany Prepares for Economic Downturn

Christian Reiermann January 15, 2019
International Monetary Fund analysts warn that the global economy confronts multiple risks, and the global banking system is not prepared for a downturn. Stock markets are losing value, and trade disagreements reduce efficiency and heighten uncertainty. Tightening US monetary policy and rising interest rates pose problems for emerging economies that have borrowed in dollars. Brexit, populism and...

BBC: Mass Data Attack on German Politicians

January 4, 2019
The most sensitive data is not secure online. A cyberattack targeted hundreds of Germany politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, along with celebrities and journalists. “Contacts, private chats and financial details were put out on Twitter which belong to figures from every political party except the far-right AfD,” reports BBC News. Twitter suspended the account with 17,000 followers,...

OilPrice: The Solar Tech Flying Under the Radar

Haley Zaremba December 25, 2018
Renewable energies represent about 12 percent of energy consumption and 20 percent of electricity generation, reports the US Energy Information Administration. Solar energy along with wind and hydro power are ranked among the top sources of renewable energies. “Currently, one of the most promising innovations flying under the radar in the world of solar panels is concentrated photovoltaics,”...

Spiegel: If Macron Fails, Europe Fails

Henrik Enderlein December 24, 2018
Emmanuel Macron won the French presidential election without support of a traditional political party on a platform of strengthening the European Union in revolutionary ways. But the yellow-vest protests that began over a fuel tax are eroding his authority. He has led numerous reforms for the French job market, wage negotiations, taxation and the budget deficit. “Macron has already reformed his...