Austerity is a science in Germany, and youthful Germans no longer yearn for cars. Attuned to such sensibilities, BMW and other automakers are developing car-sharing programs that allow members to reserve cars online and then drive a new vehicle, as needed, for few euros. “[M]embers get an...
Click here for the article in Spiegel Online.
Overall, global military spending decreased in 2014 from the previous year, reports the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The United States spends more than other countries on defense, yet struggles against the skillful use of hybrid tactics by China and Russia, explains Richard...
Hybrid warfare: Russia’s “little green men” militia enter Ukraine, top: Chinese “little blue men” maritime militia harass USS Impeccable in South China Sea in 2009
WASHINGTON: Recent clashes in Ukraine, Syria and the South China Sea indicate the...
Neighboring states assess the costs and benefits of a fast-rising China for their own economies and security relationships. “Singapore needs to have a realistic assessment of China's intentions, America's resolve, and the place of Asean and Singapore in the region, in order to chart its...
THE United States talks about re-balancing to Asia; the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) wants a strategic balance between China and America. After 50 years, Singapore has maintained, like Asean, that it does not want to have to...
Polls expose divisions among Russians over their government’s intervention in Ukraine: there is a nationalistic streak with 44 percent viewing Americans as the enemy, but also a practical side, with 19 percent suggesting Ukraine belongs to Russia, down from near 50 percent a year ago, reports...
Click here for the article in the Financial Times.
Oil prices are in decline around the globe, reflecting a slowdown in China and the eurozone combined with increased production in nations whose budgets and stability rely on steady revenues. OPEC, which controls about 40 percent of production, fails to coordinate. Low prices mean lower revenues,...
The global oil benchmark, Brent crude, fell Thursday to about $92 per barrel before rebounding to finish the day at around $94 per barrel, the lowest price since mid-2012. The latest sell-off follows one of the sharpest declines in a quarter in...
Israel and Gaza continue an unending cycle of rage and retaliation, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warns the region "cannot afford another full-blown war," reports BBC News. “He demanded that Hamas militants stop firing rockets and also urged the Israeli government to exercise...
Click here for the article in BBC News.
US officials long blocked the Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei from business deals for its supposed link with the Chinese military. “But even as the United States made a public case about the dangers of buying from Huawei, classified documents show that the National Security Agency was...
Click here for the article in The New York Times.
Canada is not alone with a widening income divide – a few making great gains while the vast majority struggles with stagnant wages. Analysis from the Globe and Mail points to globalization as the reason. US competition may pressure wages, and the skilled with global appeal are paid more than those...
Click here for the article in The Globe and Mail.
