Brave New World
Back to homepageOil North of 60: Africa Seeks to Cash in on Energy Crunch
Already jittery markets, largely without direction, are braced for a near-perfect storm as central banks taper their bond-buying sprees and shelling across the ‘line of separation’ in Ukraine intensifies – a possible, if not likely, presage to an all-out war
Read MoreKeep on Truckin’, urges Canada, but Protest Blockade evades an Easy Fix
What do truckers and Covid-19 vaccinations have in common? You would think very little, but recent events in Ottawa prove otherwise. In January, Covid-19 mandates required drivers to be vaccinated before crossing the US-Canada border — sparking the Freedom Convoy
Read MoreVirtually at Work, Physically at Home: VR Tech Ups the Ante
The work-from-home movement may soon take the leap from temporary necessity to selling point. Facebook’s $3bn acquisition of Oculus in 2014 spawned a virtual office space for employees working from home. The Facebook / Meta VR flagship, Quest 2, released
Read MoreIn Search of Lost Time: Mapping the Chip on Russia’s Shoulder
Before the shooting starts anew, let’s mention the war. Not the war we know, but the one that lives on in the often-indecipherable psyche of Russia, laced as it is with nostalgia and wounded pride. Widely recognized in the West
Read MoreMarket Volatility as Push (Slowly) Comes to Shove: Grappling with a Multitude of Crises in an Increasingly Dangerous World
Central bankers seem caught between their natural inclination to get a grip on inflation and a fear of abruptly deflating asset prices. In other words: the temptation to avoid engineering a bust after the post-lockdown boom reigns supreme. Thus, the
Read MoreNo Gloating on First Anniversary of DC Riots: Misguided Republican Anger at a Beneficial Electoral System
She called it a “beautiful sight to behold” when student protesters stormed the building that houses the Hong Kong Legislative Council. Now Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi is at a loss to explain why the spectacle of
Read MoreIndustry’s Most Exciting Space: Untold Billions Showered on Battery and Electric Vehicle Technology and Production
Earlier this week, the first lithium-ion battery cell rolled off the assembly line of Europe’s newest so-called gigafactory – a novel phenomenon usually defined as a manufacturing plant capable of churning out at least 15 gigawatt hours of cumulative battery
Read MoreFormer Student Protest Leader Claims Presidency in Chile
A land of geographical and political extremes, Chile seems to have rejected moderation and elevated a former student protest leader to the presidency. However, the electorate did so reluctantly as it faced an almost impossible choice between a right-wing apologist
Read MoreToo Much of a Good Thing: Inflation Spike Puzzles ECB – Engage or Ignore?
For years on end, central bankers in Europe and the United States have tempted providence to deliver a modicum of inflation. Over the past five years, the eurozone slid twice into deflationary territory. As recent as August 2020, the consumer
Read MoreThe Fallacy of ‘Chinese Characteristics’: Critique of Liberal Democracy Misplaced and Premature
Amongst political philosophers, it has of late become fashionable to hail China as a model of effective governance. The country’s rapid development – according to the World Bank the fastest sustained growth of a major economy ever in world history
Read More