Following an extended period of unprecedented success, Africa’s mining industry is on its knees. The heady days of record commodity prices are long gone. For anyone involved in the African mining industry, Cape Town in February means one thing: Indaba. Held this year between 8 and 11 February, the Investing in African Mining Indaba is […]
What is the Gaeseong Industrial Complex? The Gaeseong (sometimes spelled Kaesong) Industrial Complex is a joint project between North and South Korea, launched in 2004. It is an industrial park which lies on the North Korean side of the De-Militarised Zone (DMZ) separating the two countries, but over a hundred South Korean companies base factories […]
The lifting of international sanctions against Iran last month following the Vienna nuclear agreement has led to a bonanza of European investment deals with Tehran. Iran’s President, Hassan Rouhani, has boasted of a “new spring” in relations with the European Union, and was recently feted on his visits to Paris and Rome. In the past […]
When a European Union policy decision can bring together two senators as ideologically diverse as Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the issue must be egregious. And the EU initiative targeting Israeli exports fits the bill. Gillibrand and Cruz took the lead along with a bipartisan group of 34 additional senators to protest […]
Two things alarm me most about this EU referendum malarkey. First is the casual indifference with which a British Prime Minister blithely hands over the right of British people to govern themselves. Second, is the defeated spirit of so many timorous Britons who believe they must trade in their freedom for the (false) promise of […]
We now know the main themes of the EU referendum campaign. On one side, trust and risk-aversion. Confronting that, mistrust and anger. In the middle, Euro-scepticism and paradox. David Cameron, the candidate of trust and risk-aversion, intends to capture the middle ground. He proposes to fight a Euro-sceptic campaign. He will proclaim – truthfully – […]
Another day, another deliberately provocative stunt from Donald Trump. Last week, Trump shocked capitalists and free trade advocates by calling for a 45% tax on goods imported from China. In a terrific piece for CapX, Zac Tate analysed the nuances of trade tariffs, and concluded that a blanket 45% tariff would harm US industries and […]
China has been a big issue for Presidential hopeful Donald Trump. It was in a 2011 interview with the Wall Street Journal that the real estate magnate first called for a tax to be placed on all Chinese imports. In that interview, he claimed that in 2012, the US would lose $300bn because of trade with China. “China has […]
This week in Nairobi, ministers from 162 Member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) gather to try and reactivate global trade negotiations. The meeting marks the 20th anniversary of the WTO, but has been clouded by doubts over whether further global trade liberalisation is possible in a forum where progress requires all members to […]
China’s ties to Africa are likely to get stronger this year as the world’s biggest economy appears poised to once again double its investments across the fast-growing continent. The run-up to the sixth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) to be held early next month in South Africa is under way. The forum – in its […]
If British voters thought they could count on American support no matter what, they are in for a nasty surprise from the Obama administration. Advocates of a British exit – or ‘Brexit’ – from the EU were dealt a sharp blow at the end of last month, as Obama trade czar Michael Froman claimed that […]
Nobel-Prize-winning economist Ronald Coase died in 2013 at the grand age of 102. The two contributions for which he is best-remembered – his 1937 analysis of the significance of transactions costs for the genesis of firms, and his 1960 focus on the role of property rights in understanding externality problems – were written a very […]
In the wake of the Paris terror attacks, the huge swathes of migrants coming to Europe have temporarily been relegated to the bottom of the news pile. As we focus on the innocents caught up in the bloodshed on Friday night, it is easy to forget the many hundreds of thousands of people who are, […]
Over the last couple of years a menacing and secretive global power, known only by its acronym, has emerged. It operates across borders, with scant regard for international law – let alone the lives of those under its rule. Left unchecked, it poses an existential threat to Western civilisation. I am, of course, talking about […]
David Cameron is calling in favours from world leaders at present. He wants them to opine that Britain, everything considered, ought to stay in the EU. They often oblige: heads of government do that sort of thing for each other. So we may be pretty certain that, when India’s Narendra Modi comes to London next […]
This is the latest edition of Ian Stewart’s Monday Briefing. You can view previous editions and sign up to receive future editions by email here. Global GDP growth remains disappointing. At the start of the year the global economy looked set to expand by 3.0% this year; the actual outcome looks likely to be closer to […]
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