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from Asia Times Online
News & Media Website
The chairman of Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo, Gian Maria Gros-Pietro, says he knows nothing of his bank’s involvement in co-financing Atlas Merchant Capital’s takeover of Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) or the pan-African Africell mobile-telephone network in cooperation with the US government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). Sources in Washington say Intesa Sanpaolo has expressed interest in entering a co-financing deal with OPIC on the two mega African M&A deals.
The murder of a prominent dissident and an attempted bombing of an opposition rally in Paris suggest that Iran may be seeking to quash some of its most vocal critics abroad just as the Iranian regime faces growing unrest at home. Since last year, Iran has seen massive protests in cities across the country. The Islamic Republic is no stranger to protest, but what is different is that the concerns are not just economic. Across Iran, groups ranging from farmers deploring water scarcity to truck drivers have launched protests which are quickly taking on political overtones.
Around 2.5 billion to 3 billion people worldwide don’t have access to clean water. There are at least another 1.5 billion in developed countries who may have access to clean water but don’t trust its quality. To be on the safe side, consumers all over the world are increasingly taking charge of their own drinking water supply. Installations of expensive water-treatment systems are exploding in the developed world, as is consumption of bottled water. In such cities as Tokyo, Berlin, London and New York, fewer and fewer people are drinking water from the tap.
According to a Washington Post/Schar School poll of Americans published on July 11, only 39% of respondents approved of US President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs on foreign countries, while 56% were opposed. But while it’s good news that a majority of Americans oppose their president on this key issue, Trump is plunging ahead, apparently thinking the public will like the tariffs better when they are in place. It is a puzzle why even 39% support these policies. Ever since the Great Depression and World War II, and the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the United States – both its government and its people – has been squarely in support of free trade. The problem today is that, with increased globalization an apparently permanent new condition, and with inequality within countries widening, people tend to feel that their long-term economic situation is getting riskier. We need to find a way to insure people against the risks of the global market without in any way demeaning them.
With the announcement by President Donald Trump that the US would start the process of imposing 10% tariffs on an additional US$200 billion worth of Chinese imports in the next few months, it is safe to say that the US-China trade war has moved past the phony-war phase.
Korea shifts from crypto speculation to blockchain development
Last year, South Korea went crypto-speculation crazy. But now, if the nation truly wants to lead the sector, it has to upgrade blockchain development and accelerate business adoption.
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from Competitive Enterprise Institute
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS
U.S. District Judge John F. Keenan on July 19 dismissed New York City’s climate change lawsuit against British Petroleum, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, and Royal Dutch Shell. Keenan’s reasoning is similar to that of U.S. District Judge William Alsup, who last month dismissed Oakland and San Francisco’s climate litigation against the same oil companies.
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from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS, HIGH, non-profit organization
Free Trade Makes Us All Richer (Even If Other Countries Don't "Play Fair")
This week my colleague Ryan Young rightly warned that the White House’s newly announced tariffs on Chinese goods will harm Americans consumers and workers. Simon Lester of the Cato Institute also notes that confusion about the nature of trade deficits is a bipartisan one. This is a good opportunity to get back to basics and remember what tariffs are and how they affect economic behavior and consumer welfare.
What Americans Pay for Protectionism
If it’s bad for prosperity for governments to impose taxes, regulation, and intervention on trade inside a country, then it’s also bad for prosperity for government to impose taxes, regulation, and intervention on trade that crosses national borders.
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from First Things
If a geopolitical observer had predicted a decade ago that Israel and Saudi Arabia would one day join forces against Iran, he would have been laughed off the stage. Yet here we are. It is a surreal turn of events, but one whose inner logic is easy to discern. After six decades of unremitting hostility, the Arabs have learned that a Jewish state nestled beside the Mediterranean isn’t the source of their troubles—and might even be a solution.
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from The Spokesman-Review
Newspaper in Spokane, Washington
Sister Paula Turnbull, artist behind many of Spokane’s most iconic works, dies at 97
Sister Paula Turnbull, the creative force behind many of Spokane’s best-known and best-loved art installations – including the iconic Garbage Goat of Riverfront Park – has died. She was 97.
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Sister Paula Turnbull, artist behind many of Spokane’s most iconic works, dies at 97
Sister Paula Turnbull, the creative force behind many of Spokane’s best-known and best-loved art installations – including the iconic Garbage Goat of Riverfront Park – has died. She was 97.
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