World politics

weltkarte

Economists See Ray of Hope for Political Situation in Almost All Regions of the World

IFO Insitute | The assessment of the political situation improved worldwide in the second quarter of 2022 according to the latest Economic Experts Survey (EES) – a global quarterly survey conducted by the IFO Institute and the Swiss Economic Policy Institute – which this time had 1,795 participants from 127 countries. At plus 10 points, they assessed political stability worldwide as significantly better than in the previous quarter. “Despite energy…


Indonesiaok

Indonesia | An Economic Rebound Is Underway And Sectors Have Recovered, But Downside Risks Persist

Crédito y Caución (Atradius) | In his second term, President Joko Widodo has continued to tackle economic reforms, such as infrastructure improvement to support the manufacturing sector and digital economy, reforms of the labour market and foreign investment rules. However, some key elements of his policy agenda remain contested due to vested interests. While Widodo has broad support in the House of Representatives, the wide range of political groups in…


US elections, Joe Biden

Xi, Biden Switching Strategies For Dominance

Alicia García Herrero (Natixis) | US President Joe Biden’s long-awaited trip to Asia got off to a poor start, after ASEAN leaders’ official visit to the White House saw hardly any relevant policy decisions, and Biden’s stingy pitch of $150 million to ASEAN economies. Based on that example and Biden’s difficult political situation at home, the stakes for his trip to Asia were low. But reality has proved the pessimism…


JoeBiden

Biden Becomes A ‘Warlord’

J.P. Marín-Arrese | Biden needs to bolster his tarnished presidency before the upcoming elections. Failing to deliver his electoral promises for the less well off, he faces the grim prospect of losing control of the Chambers. His economic record seems appallingly lacklustre as inflation is eroding incomes of most American households. Moderate Democrats allied themselves with Republicans to dump bombastic plans to provide widespread social benefits. Growth and jobs are…


Novak Djokovic 1

Djokovic Case Highlights Australia’s “Shameful” Refugee Policies

Amnesty International | Commenting on the court ruling on tennis star Novak Djokovic’s appeal against the Australian government’s decision to cancel his visa, Graham Thom, Amnesty International Australia’s refugee adviser, said: “Djokovic has glimpsed for a moment what refugees have been experiencing for years because of the Australian government’s shameful policies on refugees. For example, Mehdi Ali, a 24-year-old Iranian held in the same hotel as Djokovic, the Park Hotel,…


Baltasar Garzón

The UN Human Rights Committee Loses Its Way

“We don’t say the last word because we are right. We are right because we say the last word” (A US Supreme Court Justice). The UN Human Rights Committee has ruled that Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón did not have “access to a fair trial in the Franquismo case – where he was acquitted – and the Gürtel case,” the corruption case affecting the Partido Popular (PP), which, Garzón, then judge…


Cuba

Spain, Pending Cuba

“Cuba is not a democracy”, the Spanish Prime Minister replied when asked if Cuba is a dictatorship. The debate, in Spain, was sparked by a leader of UN Podemos, partners in Sánchez’s government, who denied that Cuba was a dictatorship. When asked, the new government spokeswoman, Isabel Rodriguez, declined to answer… Until Sánchez went off on a tangent, as he has done so many times before, claiming that “it is…


G7 everyone

G7 Unites On China With A Global Infrastructure Plan To Tackle China’s One Belt, One Road

G7 unites on China, climate change and pandemic. G7 leaders met this weekend for Joe Biden’s first summit as US president. Their first item on the agenda was to reach unity in relation to China, achieving agreement on a global infrastructure project (Build Back Better World) in response to China’s One Belt, One Road project, although without explicitly mentioning it in the text. In addition, the seven countries also committed to implement measures against anti-competitive practices by Chinese industry and agreed on a communiqué on human rights violations in Xianjing. The G7 also criticised China and demanded an investigation into the origin of COVID-19.


re opening corporate debt

Corporate Taxes Back Centre Stage: If Companies Are Forced To Pay For The Pandemic, There Will Be No Increase In Profits

Alphavalue | ll governments around the world are faced with the fact that growth comes from investing in education, the environment and possibly infrastructures. The pandemic has de facto killed an old and simplistic idea that the lower the taxes, the better. Without public resources, there would have been no way of dealing with the pandemic. So supporters of reasonable corporate taxes have returned to the scene, starting with Spain, the UK for its next budget and now the US.


polarisation

Political Polarisation: The Phenomenon That Should Be On Everyone’s Lips

Javier García Arenas (Caixabank Research) | Society has become notably more polarised in recent years. In the US, this manifests itself through a wider gap between the views of Republican and Democrat voters. In Europe, we have identified an increase in disagreements over fundamental issues such as immigration and European integration. Political parties have also become more polarised in advanced economies, most notably in the last decade.