Showing 1 - 10 of 43
Roaring global growth is emerging
News, Mike Dolan, Published on 11/02/2026
» The chaotic newsflow, geopolitical shape-shifting and wild market swings of 2026 have clouded one basic signal: the global economy is racing forward.
Green energy's unseen toll on our river systems
News, Arisara Lekkham, Published on 13/01/2026
» At global climate forums, the clean energy transition is framed as progress --necessary, urgent, and inevitable. Governments reaffirm commitments to move away from fossil fuels and accelerate renewable energy, electric vehicles, and digital infrastructure. From a distance, the pathway to a greener future appears orderly and hopeful. From where I stand in Chiang Rai, it feels far less balanced.
Grasberg disaster exposes copper market fragilities
Andy Home, Published on 02/10/2025
» The copper market is long accustomed to unexpected supply hits but the catastrophic events at Freeport-McMoRan’s Grasberg mine in Indonesia are unprecedented in terms of scale and potential impact.
Commodities nearing super cycle
News, Taosha Wang, Published on 22/09/2025
» Commodities have had a rough decade, but a confluence of structural factors suggests that after years of underinvestment, the stage may be set for the next super cycle.
Stepping up the poverty fight
News, Akinwumi A Adesina & Ilan Goldfajn, Published on 15/09/2025
» Faced with a slowing global economy and rising debts, many developing-country governments may be tempted to scale back anti-poverty programmes. That would be a grave mistake. Combating poverty is not just a moral imperative; it is also crucial for economic stability, conflict prevention, and long-term development.
The scramble for the world's critical minerals
Oped, Rabah Arezki & Rick van der Ploeg, Published on 07/08/2025
» The world's superpowers have developed a seemingly insatiable appetite for the critical minerals that are essential to the ongoing energy and digital transitions, including rare-earth metals (for semiconductors), cobalt (for batteries), and uranium (for nuclear reactors). The International Energy Agency forecasts that demand for these minerals will more than quadruple by 2040 for use in clean-energy technologies alone. But, in their race to control these vital resources, China, Europe, and the United States risk causing serious harm to the countries that possess them.
Will Indonesia regret its trade deal with Trump?
Oped, Lili Yan Ing, Published on 23/07/2025
» Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true. That ancient proverb comes to mind when considering the eagerness of America's trade partners around the world to negotiate deals with US President Donald Trump's administration. Four countries already have, with Indonesia the latest to do so -- and possibly the first to regret it.
Markets may soon call US' bluff
Oped, Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg, Published on 21/07/2025
» Three months after President Donald Trump announced plans to impose sweeping new tariffs on most countries, the US economy appears surprisingly resilient. The stock market has rebounded from its initial slump, inflation remains under control and fears of a recession have receded -- or at least they had before Mr Trump announced a new 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union, two of America's biggest trading partners.
Dear DOGE, it's high time to tear down those dams!
News, Tom Zoellner, Published on 12/07/2025
» No big government infrastructure project made an imprint on the landscape and economy of the West more than the US Bureau of Reclamation's 20th century dam-building spree, which peppered 490 dams across the country, created an agricultural civilisation dependent on federal hydrology civil engineering, and brought about a welter of environmental difficulties after drying up dozens of once-healthy rivers.
A 10-day journey across snowy Iran
Roger Crutchley, Published on 22/06/2025
» Watching events unfold in the Middle East last week sparked memories of the brief time I spent in Iran a long time ago in more peaceful times. In February 1969 I travelled across the northern part of the nation during an overland trip from London to New Delhi. The country was still run by the Shah who was overthrown 10 years later in the Iranian Revolution.