Tata Steel put its British business up for sale this week, and it’s not an easy pitch. If the Indian conglomerate can’t find a buyer for the operations, which it acquired as part of a $12 billion deal in 2007, it could shutter the plants, putting 15,000 jobs at risk.
Finland gets praise for its progressive “open prisons,” where inmates circulate freely in the surrounding community during the day—working, studying, and shopping among the locals. This costs less to run and leads to lower reoffending rates than locking up criminals in the traditional manner.
The bazooka is not the most accurate weapon. When wielded by a non-professional, it’s even more unpredictable.
The analysts at Liberum, a London-based investment bank, think that British voters are very unlikely to choose to leave the EU in the referendum to be held on June 23. They put the odds of a British exit—aka “Brexit”—at just 25%.
They’re not exactly the most sympathetic citizens, but prisoners—and criminals at risk of going to prison—are finding that there is an upside to austerity. According to new statistics released by the Council of Europe, a human rights group, overcrowding at European prisons is the lowest it’s been for more than decade.
Update (3:15pm ET): In a press conference after being released, Lula was visibly angry about his arrest. “I felt like a prisoner,” he said (link in Portuguese). “Unfortunately, they preferred to abuse their power, arrogance—a show, a fireworks spectacle.” Clashes were reported outside the his apartment, where supporters and opponents gathered following news of his detention. Some analysts worry that the increasingly heated rhetoric could erupt into violence in the next couple of days.
It’s hard out there for European banks. In their home markets, economic growth is weak, unemployment is high, and interest rates are low (or even negative). On top of that, global markets are volatile, plunging energy prices are hurting big borrowers, and a slowing Chinese economy is putting a damper on just about everything.
Japan is good at making lots of things—except more Japanese. In its latest census, Japan’s population shrank by one million people.
The UK’s referendum on EU membership is on June 23—but how likely is it that voters will choose to ditch the bloc? Place your bets!
In the 1960s, when Britain applied to join the European Economic Community, a predecessor of today’s European Union, it was vetoed by France. Twice.
Yesterday evening (Feb. 15), word spread that the oil ministers of Russia and Saudi Arabian had made a breakthrough: after years of failure to find common ground on almost any subject of substance, these two titans had agreed to freeze petroleum production, a demonstration of resolve to reduce the global glut of crude and push rock-bottom prices back up. They got Qatar and Venezuela on board, too.
Where do you see yourself in five years? Tell me about a time when you showed leadership. What is your biggest weakness?
Royal Bank of Scotland is at it again.
Markets are tanking and economies are faltering. Good thing, then, that this week the global elite assembled in Davos, under the World Economic Forum’s mantra of “improving the state of the world.”
Davos, Switzerland
Davos, Switzerland
Global economic growth disappointed in 2015, and the picture for 2016 is equally gloomy. Is this the new normal, or can governments and businesses reboot growth in the future? What role will digital technologies play to counteract this trend? If all else fails, how should we adapt to this bleaker reality?
There are a million ways to rank countries, but most measure only one thing—the strength of the economy, students’ test scores, goat ownership, and so on. Can’t we just cut to the chase? Which is the best country?
Pop quiz: Name the first CEO that comes to mind.
In the waning days of the Ottoman Empire, Tsar Nicholas of Russia dubbed the ailing state “the sick man of Europe.” This mid-19th century turn of phrase soon proved useful in other contexts, and was duly applied to other countries. Some 160 years later, in September 2015, Finland’s finance minister lamented that “basically, we are the sick man of Europe.”
The new year brings new beginnings—fresh thinking, honest assessments, and a general determination to do things better. This rarely lasts.
2015: Ode to misery
