Showing 1 - 10 of 39
Is there a case for IMF gold sales?
News, Tim Hirschel-Burns & Marina Zucker-Marques, Published on 14/10/2025
» With developing countries facing intense financial pressure and developed countries slashing foreign aid, it can be tempting to dream of stumbling across a pot of gold. Dream no longer: The International Monetary Fund is currently sitting on 90.5 million ounces of the metal.
Musk’s lost boys and Trump’s mean girls
News, Maureen Dowd, Published on 12/02/2025
» Tom Stoppard wrote in The Real Thing, his enticing play about infidelity: “To marry one actress is unfortunate. To marry two is simply asking for it.”
Japan faces upheaval as LDP bloc loses majority
News, Alastair Gale & Yuki Hagiwara & Yoshiaki Nohara, Published on 29/10/2024
» Japan faces a period of political instability after the ruling coalition failed to win a majority in parliament for the first time since 2009, setting up a race among two main blocs to form a government.
Democracies uniting to counter global populism
News, Jan-Werner Mueller, Published on 22/08/2024
» Think back to late June and early July. The French far right was favoured to win a snap parliamentary election. Trumpist judges in the United States were conveniently resolving the legal woes of the former president, who seemed to be gliding to victory after President Joe Biden's disastrous debate performance. And while Britain was getting a Labour government, a new anti-immigration party led by the chief Brexiteer, Nigel Farage, had made unprecedented gains. Faced with it all, pundits warned that a wave of populist, "anti-incumbency" rage was sweeping across the world's democracies.
Chokepoints could cripple trade
News, Tim Culpan, Published on 16/01/2024
» When traffic through the Suez Canal ground to a halt in 2021, the extraordinary cost and disruptions to global commerce seemed overwhelming. But 8,000 kilometres from the canals of Suez and Panama lie even more important shipping lanes, chokepoints that could cripple global trade should any disaster befall them.
Key 2024 poll in California affects India
Oped, JOE MATHEWS, Published on 03/01/2024
» On Jan 28, people in my home state of California will finally get to cast ballots in a historic vote on whether to create a new independent country.
Fragile supply chains will rebuild
News, Tim Culpan, Published on 27/12/2023
» Pick a single item from an array of shocks and you can see just how fragile global supply chains truly are. But combine climate change, decoupling from China, unprecedented technological development, wars, rising costs and labour shortages, and we now have an amalgam of catalysts that will change global trade for the better.
You too, may one day have your own satellite
News, Tim Culpan, Published on 20/12/2023
» The Space Race, launched more than 60 years ago, kickstarted an unprecedented boom in travel and communications beyond our planet. But it was a realm only available to national governments with multibillion-dollar budgets. Private industry has now taken over the sector, making personal satellite ownership a fast-approaching reality for consumers.
Nike shoes aren't performance-enhancing drugs
News, Adam Minter, Published on 24/10/2023
» World records in marathons have toppled like track hurdles in recent weeks. Tigst Assefa, the new women's record holder, beat the old one by more than two minutes. Kelvin Kiptum, the latest men's record holder, took 34 seconds off his predecessor's time. These are astonishing accomplishments. But not everybody is crediting the athletes. Instead, critics argue that Assefa and Kiptum couldn't have run at top speeds without a new generation of high-performance "super shoes". Some go so far as to equate the souped-up shoes to performance-enhancing drugs.
Jokes aren't what they used to be
Roger Crutchley, Published on 27/08/2023
» It is customary at this time of the year for PostScript to try and lighten up proceedings with what have been voted the best jokes by stand-up comedians at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe which wraps up this week. Unfortunately this year's offerings have been decidedly underwhelming, or perhaps I'm getting a bit too ancient to appreciate modern wit. Anyway, prepare yourself for a few groans.