In The News

Project Syndicate: The Blockchain Lie

Nouriel Roubini October 25, 2018
The bubble has burst for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and economist Nouriel Roubini argues that such techno-currencies and the related blockchain distributed ledger software are over-hyped and not useful. He insists that investors find more security holding real money widely recognized by governments. “In practice, blockchain is nothing more than a glorified spreadsheet,” Roubini writes...

Reuters: “Existential Crisis” at WTO

Tom Miles October 24, 2018
The World Trade Organization plans reforms after the United States has blocked appointments and threatened withdrawal. “At stake is the effectiveness - even the survival - of a key stabilizing force in the global economy,” reports Tom Miles for Reuters. “Since its founding in 1995, the WTO has stopped governments from arbitrarily raising trade barriers and disrupting the flow of goods.” The WTO...

Visual Capitalist: 8 Forces Shaping the Global Economy

Jeff Desjardins October 23, 2018
Globalization, while less popular in some countries, still contributes to rapid change throughout the world. Global networks allow for immediate spread of new ideas, and Jeff Desjardins of Visual Capitalist identifies eight forces of global change with striking information graphics: Technology, data analysis and artificial intelligence contribute to efficiency; tech companies now represent the...

The Atlantic: Abortion by Mail

Olga Khazan October 19, 2018
For many years, organizations like Women on Web assist women in challenging settings like war zones to obtain medications to induce abortions. Women on Web provides Skype consultations, prescriptions and pills that trigger miscarriages, but also was “inundated with requests from women in countries such as the United States, where abortion is technically legal but growing more difficult to access...

Asia Sentinel: China Empties the Seas

Gregory McCann October 19, 2018
The Chinese have reduced fish stocks along their coastline so fishermen turn to other waters: “Today thousands of Chinese ships are trawling international waters from Guinea to Liberia and Senegal to Taiwan, Palau and Fiji and beyond to Chile and even beyond that, Chinese fishing vessels are scouring the seas for anything that swims, vastly underreporting their catches to the UN Food and...

Insurance Journal: IPCC Climate Change Report

Don Jergler October 18, 2018
The UN Intercontinental Panel on Climate Change has issued a report on the ongoing risks of droughts, floods, wildfires and storms due to climate change. Corporations already prepare, and the insurance industry must worry both about property damage and coverage as well as an abrupt end to investments in the carbon economy as public opinion tends to shift quickly on such matters. “Institutional...

New York Times: Three Internets and America’s May Not Be Best

October 16, 2018
As nations apply regulations that limit the internet, some protecting and others invading privacy, the information highway may fragment. “All signs point to a future with three internets,” notes an opinion essay written by the New York Times editorial board. “But all three spheres — Europe, America and China — are generating sets of rules, regulations and norms that are beginning to rub up...