Society

Hadas: Be thankful for good economic news

23 Nov 2017

The launch of bitcoin futures contracts grabs headlines, but has no weight on the scales of history. A half-century of sharp declines in global misery is another matter. This may be the greatest economic achievement ever. Be grateful - and angry at how much is still not done.

Sabotaging Obamacare backfires on Republicans

22 Nov 2017

President Trump claims his predecessor’s health-insurance program is dying. He and the GOP have eliminated some subsidies and slashed marketing. Yet the pace of enrollment has risen from last year. The political cost of efforts to kill the program is rising.

Mastering effluent can make a financial splash

20 Nov 2017

Some 80 pct of global wastewater goes untreated, causing health and other societal problems. That leaves untouched 1 trln gallons of sludge that could be harnessed for energy, fertilizers and reusable water. With a potential fivefold return, investors need not hold their noses.

Mugabe will cast a long shadow over Zimbabwe

20 Nov 2017

The 93-year-old ruler is likely to be impeached after nearly four decades in power. He bequeaths an economy in urgent need of reforms. The most important – attracting foreign investment and restoring trust in the currency system – will happen over years, not weeks.

Merkel’s weakness could give Europe strength

20 Nov 2017

The collapse of coalition talks will force German Chancellor Angela Merkel to weigh other options. Another grand coalition or a minority government would be preferable to new elections. Revamping the euro zone will be easier without the Free Democrats opposing fiscal integration.

Review: The next fight for Latin America’s soul

17 Nov 2017

Dictators and demagogues have come and gone; progress in the region has been impressive. Still, rule of law and effective institutions still lack, Michael Reid writes in "Forgotten Continent." That makes the next steps toward prosperity harder.

Gender bonds are more than feel-good investments

17 Nov 2017

Investors have flocked to the first-ever U.S. dollar bond promoting equality at work. They are smart to do so. It's more than good PR at a bad time for the war of the sexes. Given the correlation between moral behaviour and sound returns, the bigger issue is lack of supply.

Hadas: Unintended consequences may be new normal

15 Nov 2017

From Brexit to Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia, the world is full of surprises. But those cheering wrenching change may face further upsets. The UK rejoins the EU, the U.S. president discredits small government, and Saudis become poorer. The next shock may be the rise of dullness.

Holding: Corporate America loves its bad Boies

10 Nov 2017

The lawyer David Boies may have helped disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein try to hide his abuses, but don’t expect more than a shrug from the business world. In a realm that prizes results, the defender of the likes of ex-AIG boss Hank Greenberg will remain the go-to consigliere.

McKinsey needs to run a matrix on itself

10 Nov 2017

The consulting firm has been facing tough questions over hiring in Saudi, and work in South Africa. Neither helps its image. But more worrying is how data is making consulting a commodity. Doling out advice looks less valuable when one’s own business is struggling.

Review: The economic common good is hard to find

10 Nov 2017

Jean Tirole won the Nobel Prize for his work on regulating tricky industries. In “Economics for the Common Good” he takes on broader themes. Newcomers to current debates can learn from his general discussions, but the highlights are subtle descriptions of his area of expertise.

Yahoo ex-boss shows everyone’s in dark on hacks

8 Nov 2017

Marissa Mayer told senators she still doesn’t know who was behind a 2013 data theft affecting 3 bln users. Equifax’s CEO said the same of a breach involving 145 mln consumers. And Congress struggles to draft cyber rules. Amid such cluelessness, the epidemic can only get worse.

Ritz roundup is dark side of grand Saudi ambition

5 Nov 2017

The detention of elites including Prince Alwaleed in an anti-corruption drive may head off opposition to the crown prince's reforms. It could clear the way for initiatives like his $500 bln desert city. But it also makes needed underpinnings, like the rule of law, less credible.

The Exchange: Ellen Pao

2 Nov 2017

The investor sued Kleiner Perkins for discrimination, becoming a canary in the coal mine for a raft of sexual-harassment and gender-bias allegations rocking Silicon Valley, Hollywood and beyond. She discusses if this is a turning point for what she describes as a systemic problem.

UK gender pay equality drive is too easy to skirt

30 Oct 2017

Bigger employers have less than six months to disclose any difference between how much men and women earn. Transparency is supposed to help close the gap. But Austria has tried something similar to little effect. Only the threat of eventual sanctions will make a real difference.

Hadas: Greed is best indicator of financial crisis

26 Oct 2017

New research casts small-time property investors as the secret villains in the 2007 U.S. house price collapse. As usual, the love of leverage was the root of financial distress. Balance sheets are stronger today, but investors still haven’t learned the virtue of moderation.

Italy’s north teaches Catalonia a self-rule lesson

23 Oct 2017

Areas which bring in 30 pct of Italian GDP demanded more autonomy in a referendum. Lombardy and Veneto want to keep more tax revenue. But unlike the Spanish region they stopped short of demanding independence. Orderly voting and a clear outcome will force Rome to negotiate.

Hadas: Time to slay the free market-myth monster

19 Oct 2017

The oft-told story of vibrant private companies as economic heroes isn’t right, and the common tale of the incompetent state is equally wrong. A new group at University College London can help create a more accurate – and more complex – narrative. The economy is a shared project.

Sexual harassment forces way into the board room

18 Oct 2017

Harvey Weinstein’s movie studio is in tatters. Mighty Amazon is wrestling with the fallout from alleged misbehavior of a top executive. They're not alone. The mistreatment of women has swiftly moved from an HR issue to a serious business risk deserving of attention from the top.

Hadas: Economists need more psychological abuse

11 Oct 2017

Insights from the study of the mind helped Richard Thaler win the Nobel Prize in economics. The dismal science would benefit from more thoughtful analysis. Rules of thumb could help with investments, statistics would become less alien, while ethics could illuminate big decisions.