After Brexit, it will be a lot harder One question confronting Britain and the European Union is how to maintain foreign-policy and security co-operation after Brexit. Theresa May, Britain's prime minister, often notes that failure to find agreement would harm the security interests of both sides. On March 22nd that observation found a pointed form of expression at an EU summit in Brussels, foll..
China's size and behavior are prompting a rethink on trade The post-war system of global trade has been close to expiring, seemingly, for most of the post-war period. It tottered in the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan muscled trading partners into curbing their exports to America. It wobbled with the end of the fruitless Doha round of trade talks. The system now faces the antediluvian economics of Pre..
A BIS report advises: proceed with caution Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Stellar, Cardano: the infant world of cryptocurrencies is already mind-bogglingly crowded. Amid the cacophony of blackchain-based would-be substitutes for official currencies, central banks from Singapore to Sweden have been pondering whether they should issue digital versions of their own money, too. None is about to do so, but ..
Humans are starting to use the sea more as farmers than as hunters, says Hal Hodson In the summer of 1942, as America's Pacific fleet was slugging it out at the battle of Midway, the USS Jasper, a coastal patrol boat, was floating 130 nautical miles (24km) off the west coast of Mexico, listening to the sea below. It was alive with sound: "Some fish grunt, others whistle or sing, and some just gr..
Do not expect much good to come of Donald Trump's impulsive, off-the-cuff decision to accept an invitation to meet North Korea's dictator, Kim Jong Un, "by May". For such a summit to maximize its chances of success would have required careful and painstaking back-channel diplomacy of the kind exemplified by Henry Kissinger before Nixon made his historic visit to China in 1972. Mr Trump should ha..
Donald Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminium would be just the start Donald Trump is hardly the first American president to slap unilateral tariffs on imports. Every inhabitant of the Oval Office since Jimmy Carter has imposed some kind of protectionist curbs on trade, often on steel. Nor will Mr Trump's vow to put 25% tariffs on steel and 10% on aluminium by themselves wreck the economy: they ..
And another headache for SpaceX's competitors It was not the most powerful launch ever seen at the Kennedy Space Centre's Pad 39A; almost half a century ago the Apollo programme's mighty Saturn V's made use of it. But if the Falcon Heavy that took off from 39A on February 6th could boast only half the thrust of those bygone giants, its successful maiden voyage still proved it the most powerful r..
Marco Polo was an Italian merchant, explorer, and writer, born in the Republic of Venice. His travels are recorded in Book of the Marvels of the World, also known as The Travels of Marco Pole (c. 1300), a book that described to Europeans the wealth and great size of China, capital Peking, and other Asian cities and countries. He learned the mercantile trade from his father and his uncle, Niccolo..
There is lots to dislike in Europe's populists, but also something to study The European Union must feel as if it has seen off the populist horde. Economic growth is at its strongest in a decade. Emmanuel Macron has defeated the National Front and is transforming France. Although just 41% of citizens trust the EU, that is more than trust their national governments - and is fully ten points up on..
Welcome to Doctor You No wonder they are called "patients". When people enter the health-care systems of rich countries today, they know what they will get: prodding doctors, endless tests, baffling jargon, rising costs and, above all, long waits. Some stoicism will always be needed, because health care is complex and diligence matters. But frustration is boiling over. This week three of the big..
Portolan or potulan charts are navigational maps based on compass directions and estimated distances observed by the pilots at sea. They were first made in the 13th century in Italy, and later in Spain and Portugal, with later 15th and 16th century charts noted for their cartographic accuracy. With the advent of widespread competition among seagoing nations during the Age of Discovery, Portugal ..
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer, navigator, and colonizer. Born in the Republic of Genoa, under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. Those voyages and his efforts to establish settlements on the island of Hispaniola, initiated the permanent European colonization of the New World. At a time when European kingdoms were beg..
Though big tech firms are thriving, they are facing more scrutiny than ever How much bigger can they get? The five biggest technology firms - Alphabet (Google's parent), Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft - have published financial results in recent weeks that put their combined quarterly revenues at $143bn. Yet this rude financial health conceals a more troubling long-term trend: governments..
A stopgap spending bill failed to win the necessary 60 votes in the Senate However swiftly and recklessly Congress appeared to be barreling toward a government shutdown on January 18th and 19th, optimists had one reason to hold out hope. Donald Trump planned to mark the first anniversary of his inauguration with a party at Mar-a-Lago, his resort in Florida. Ticket prices began at $100,000 a pair..
The dominance of Google, Facebook and Amazon is bad for consumers and competition Not long ago, being the boss of a big Western tech firm was a dream job. As the billions rolled in, so did the plaudits: Google, Facebook, Amazon and others were making the world a better place. Today these companies are accused of being BAADD - big, anti-competitive, addictive and destructive to democracy. Regulat..