Election

Berlin can curb but not stop a Romania-TikTok mess

12 Dec 2024

The app is under scrutiny for enabling meddling in Bucharest’s elections. Given a blanket TikTok ban is beyond the EU’s remit, Germany’s February poll may go the same way. Yet Berlin could also coordinate better with tech platforms ahead of time – which Romania didn’t.

Big Tech’s Irish grip is immune to election shocks

27 Nov 2024

Sinn Féin wants Ireland to ditch its centre-right coalition. If their hard-left policies win, it would give the likes of Google a fright. But with a cadre of multinationals providing 60% of corporate tax receipts, policy will continue to be weighted towards them regardless.

Market’s Trump trades at risk from bond vigilantes

20 Nov 2024

US consumer prices have risen 21% since 2020, helping President-elect Donald Trump win the White House. His policies, though, may stoke inflation. Stocks, bitcoin and the dollar like a hot economy. But a rising deficit could upset debt investors and hit the current market stars.

Trump trades will run into Trump reality

14 Nov 2024

The president-elect’s victory sparked wild euphoria in markets. Now comes the realization that tariffs and immigration crackdowns threaten major costs, including the return of inflation. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss the globe-spanning concerns.

The power and peril of American economic warfare

12 Nov 2024

Successive US presidents have wielded sanctions and export controls against rival nations. Donald Trump promises further escalation. In this episode of the Big View podcast, political scientist Henry Farrell explains how weaponizing finance and technology can be self-defeating.

George Soros’ 1980s US debt warning echoes today

8 Nov 2024

The hedgie said in 1986 that booming stocks belied shaky government finances. That’s true now, and not just in the United States. Britain and France are also battling a fiscal trilemma, where states can’t simultaneously have high spending, low taxes and financial stability.

German government meltdown has a silver lining

7 Nov 2024

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner after a budget dispute. It’s a bad time for political upheaval in Europe’s biggest economy. But making it more possible to loosen the absurd ‘debt brake’ may give Germany a freer hand on key areas like defence.

Trump 2.0: taxes, tensions, tariffs, turbulence

7 Nov 2024

In a decisive comeback victory for his third White House run, Donald Trump notched gains across a wide set of voters and issues. In this week’s Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists debate the chaotic consequences now looming worldwide.

Elon Musk’s biggest conflict is with Donald Trump

6 Nov 2024

The CEO was enriched Wednesday after shares of Tesla rose by $100 bln following Trump’s victory. From contracts to regulations, Musk’s political and business interests worryingly overlap. Eventually he could become the nexus of Chinese and US leaders’ fractious whims.

Europe is unprepared for the Trump storm

6 Nov 2024

The continent faces tariffs and wavering US defence commitments after the Republican candidate clinched the White House. The bloc’s already sluggish economies will suffer. Meanwhile, divided politics will hinder Europe’s capacity to deal with the shock.

Trump re-election entrenches global instability

6 Nov 2024

The former president beat Kamala Harris to return to the White House. Hopes for tax cuts and deregulation will juice short-term asset values. But his love of tariffs and authoritarian instincts set the US – and world – on a perilous path. Unlike last time, it may not be reversed.

Voters and markets put left-wing leaders in a bind

29 Oct 2024

The world must reduce debt by 3.8% of GDP by 2029 – four times more than planned – the IMF says. That’s bad news for social democratic governments, which lose elections when they are fiscally tough. But if they keep running chunky budget deficits, investors will make them pay.

Value push will mostly survive Japan election mess

29 Oct 2024

A decade-long effort to boost shareholder returns can continue to gain traction despite the LDP's disaster at the polls. It helps that Japan Exchange took charge of the party's initiative for structural reform. For now, as politicians vie for power, a weak yen will buoy stocks.

Election throws Japan into turbulent waters

28 Oct 2024

The ruling LDP's drubbing at the polls means whichever party forms the government will have to rely on rivals. That will add pressure to boost fiscal spending and make it harder for the central bank to raise rates, slowing the country's economic transformation.

Ishiba’s bad election bet will boost Bank of Japan

24 Oct 2024

The new prime minister’s decision to call a snap election next week could see his Liberal Democratic Party lose an outright majority in the lower house. That would weaken Shigeru Ishiba’s long-term prospects but would help safeguard the central bank’s push to slowly raise rates.

China’s woes make Plaza Accord 2.0 less outlandish

16 Oct 2024

If Donald Trump becomes US President, he wants a weak dollar and taxes on Chinese imports. He may use the threat of tariffs to get Beijing to boost the yuan, an echo of the 1985 Plaza Accord. A strong currency hurts growth, but a trade war could be worse for President Xi Jinping.

Old theories offer new insight into global rivalry

14 Oct 2024

The geographer Halfold Mackinder in 1904 proposed that future strife would revolve around control of Eurasia. Though the modern world is very different, it’s one way to understand conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and the showdown between the United States and China.

There’s no debate: big US spending is a tough sell

11 Sep 2024

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris squared off on immigration, abortion and, strangely, pets. Missing, however, were any grand fiscal plans. Promises of tax cuts and tariffs would cost the government less, after infrastructure, Covid-19 and other initiatives chewed up some $13 trln.

Why Kamala Harris could be good for the planet

3 Sep 2024

The American vice president is being coy about how she will fight climate change if she beats Donald Trump to the White House. But Harris would have scope to step up action both at home and abroad – especially if the Democrats also do well in November’s congressional elections.

Kamalanomics contains too much of some good things

16 Aug 2024

Ahead of the Democratic convention next week, Kamala Harris is unveiling plans to unstick the housing market, curb food prices and lower taxes. Cutting red tape and other steps to encourage more homebuilding is sensible, but excessive goodies for buyers risks stoking inflation.