Since building the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao has witnessed extraordinary growth in tourism. Now, many policy makers see Bilbao and the Guggenheim as a model for urban renewal. But not all are in agreement.
Tourism is an uncertain industry, and museums are attractive as long as they are unique....
Guggenheim Bilbao
They call it the "Guggenheim effect": the power of a well known brand and spectacular architecture to give a moribund city such as Bilbao a new lease of life.
Bilbao's economic renaissance, following the opening...
Global consumers are picky eaters, examining labels and prompting food manufacturers to reassess what goes into their products. “The idea of ‘processing’ – from ancient techniques of salting and curing to the modern arsenal of artificial preservatives – arose to make sure the food we ate didn’t...
Click here for the article in Fortune.
Just a day before North Korea announced the resumption of the operation of a nuclear reactor closed since 1994, a top US official gave for the first time a personal account of his meeting with North Korean officials. He said that after reviewing the Clinton administration’s North Korea policy, the...
Yongbyon fuel rod fabrication plant, 1992 (image courtesy of IAEA). Inset: President Kim Jong-il.
During my visit to North Korea on October 3-5, top North Korean officials acknowledged the existence of a covert uranium enrichment program....
La croissance exponentielle de la circulation des biens, des idées, des institutions et des personnes à laquelle nous assistons aujourd'hui fait partie d'une tendance historique à long terme. Tout au long de l'histoire...
The young film industry in Honduras, a country of 9 million people, struggled to produce a film each year only a decade ago. But the industry boomed in 2017 with more than a dozen films produced. And for the first time, a Honduran film – Morazán - was considered for an Academy Award, joining the...
Spreading magic: Hondura’s Hispano Durón directed Morazán, and the film became the first Honduran film to be considered for an Academy Award
SAN PEDRO SULA: Central America was united as one nation for a brief and volatile period in the mid-19th...
A Chinese policy that generally limited families to one child has been revised: Couples can have two children if either spouse is an only child. But China may discover that increasing family size is tougher than reduction, warns demographer Joseph Chamie. “This mid-course correction in population...
Baby steps to stop aging: Doting on one child, top; China’s superannuated wait around for benefits
NEW YORK: In an attempt to mitigate a near-certain demographic future of rapid aging, shrinking labor force and critical gender imbalance, the Chinese...
China funded US government spending in recent decades with low-interest loans. But the threat of default may end that free ride. China is the largest foreign holder of US Treasuries and other agency notes, with about $2 trillion invested. US financial woes have prompted China to adjust its growth...
Click here for the article in Project Syndicate.
Climate change threatens all industries with storms, wildfires, droughts, heat waves and rising seas, and the energy industry has no special standing. “Together, these risks can lead to power outages, increased electricity prices and increased maintenance, and capital costs – along with damaging...
Climate challenge to power: The Pacific Gas & Electricity utility declares bankruptcy after a devastating wildfire in northern California, and Bangladesh wrestles with power needs and safety concerns as construction begins on its Rooppur...
