I Love Coffee dot Today/ShutterstockPoliticians and economists have been pretty vocal in their response to the ongoing saga of Donald Trump’s tariffs. But much less has been heard from the world’s poorest workers about how they will be affected.
In the sweltering summer of AD18, a desperate chant echoed across China’s sun-scorched plains: “Heaven has gone blind!” Thousands of starving farmers, their faces smeared with ox blood, marched toward the opulent vaults held by the Han dynasty’s elite rulers.
Not just a British icon – a WHSmith outlet in an airport in Doha, Qatar. TY Lim/ShutterstockAfter 124 years as a familiar fixture to generations of customers, there will no longer be a place for WH Smith on UK high streets.
Those of us who study trade and investment for a living are, I suspect, becoming exasperated with both the White House stance on tariffs and the way that this is reported in much of the media. US president Donald Trump believes that if a country has a trade surplus with the US it is somehow playing unfairly and needs to be dealt with. But anyone who understands the basics of international economics will recognise the fallacy in both of these beliefs.
Carolyn Franks/ShutterstockGrowth forecasts for the US and other advanced economies have been sharply downgraded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the wake of dramatic swings in US president Donald Trump’s economic policy. But could the uncertainty and the turmoil in financial markets eventually be enough to push the world into a recession?
A few days ago, in a move that attracted international attention, the White House threatened to strip Harvard University of US$2 billion (£1.5 billion) in federal funding, potentially revoke its tax-exempt status and even prevent it from enrolling international students if it didn’t capitulate to a new list of demands.
insta_photos/ShutterstockThe world is facing a “silver tsunami” – an unprecedented ageing of the global workforce. By 2030, more than half of the labour force in many EU countries will be aged 50 or above.
Gorodenkoff/ShutterstockWould you want a psychopath looking after your pension? Or what about your shares? In a recent talk at the Cambridge Festival of Science, I spoke about the latest research relating to a psychopath’s love of money, greed for power, and willingness to harm other people financially for personal gain.
American investment bank JP Morgan's logo on its Hong Kong office. Tada Images / ShutterstockThe trade war between China and the US has spiralled into unchartered territory. On April 10, the Trump administration imposed a tariff of 125% on all Chinese imports.
Serenity Images23/ShutterstockGovernments around the world have addressed the challenge of increasing life expectancy and declining birth rates by raising the pension age. The UK is no exception. The challenge this creates for governments is the thorny dual issue of rising care costs for the ageing population while fewer taxpayers support the economy.
