In The News

The New York Times: Global Increase in Armed Groups

Kenneth R. Rosen June 29, 2018
The increasing number of localized armed groups worldwide poses a challenge for humanitarian workers. The groups, characterized as “looser, with less top-down control,” are generally informed on international humanitarian law, writes Kenneth Rosen. Humanitarian workers struggle to communicate with non-state fighters, and this adds to the challenges of treating wounded soldiers and civilians....

Financial Times: US Tariffs Threaten Global Economy

June 26, 2018
A trade war is underway, and the US president may next target German carmakers – even though his first round of trade tariffs has already provoked retaliation, increasing steel prices and making US products less competitive, prompting one US motorcycle company to announce plans for shifting some production overseas. “Cutting one’s own car manufacturers off from specialist imported components is a...

Chatham House: Keeping the Taps Running

Thomas Sagris, Martin Shouler and Mark Tindale June 25, 2018
Cities are already starting to run out of water, and Cape Town made headlines this year when it announced a “Day Zero” crisis when taps were to run dry. Worldwide urbanization, along with agriculture, industry and tourism have put immense pressure on the limited yet essential resource. Arup experts provide three examples of cities with limited supplies of water that have utilized successful...

Paris Innovation Review: 5 Societal Changes Shake Up Business

Farid Baddache June 22, 2018
Governments and consumers have expectations when choosing among products and companies, and five global trends are emerging: Customers increasingly assess the meaning, purposes and consequences of projects, and companies can encourage customer loyalty by demonstrating their products contribute social benefits. In particular, customers expect companies to promote environmental protection and work...

Financial Times: Global Stocks Tumble as Trade War Fears Intensify

Edward White, Hudson Lockett and Michael Hunter June 19, 2018
Stock markets worldwide are in decline as trade threats between the United States and China escalate. The US economy is strong, and the Trump administration’s goal is to reduce the US trade deficit with China. Trump promised $200 billion more in tariffs if China does not drop its most recent retaliatory move. The administration tries to target China but the sell-off throughout Asia reflects a...

Wall Street Journal: Emerging-Markets Rout Boosts Contagion Fears

Ira Iosebashvili, Ben Eisen and Amrith Ramkumar June 15, 2018
Stocks in emerging economies around the world like Brazil, Turkey and Indonesia have fallen dramatically in recent weeks – mostly driven by the strong US dollar and high US bond yields. Currencies and investments in emerging market bonds also remain low despite global economic growth. Countries like Argentina, Turkey, and Italy accumulated debt when interest rates were at record lows and are now...

The New York Times: Pope Tells Oil Executives to Act on Climate

Elisabetta Povoledo June 13, 2018
Three years after his urgent letter warning of the dangers of rapid climate change created by humans, Pope Francis has taken additional action by addressing the leaders of the world’s biggest oil companies. Oil and gas company efforts have been lackluster in transitioning away from limited fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, and the risks to the environment – including pollution, flooding,...