Well, this was really what I had been waiting for, not that I welcome the news, obviously, but simply that as far as I am concerned it is far from unexpected. People have been ‘writing off’ Italy’s grave structural problems far too easily IMHO:
Industrial production in Italy declined 0.9 percent month-on-month in October for an [...]

The Chinese economy could be 20% bigger than previously estimated. Since almost everything about Chinese data should have ‘best guess’ status, this probably hardly comes as a surprise, and indeed the estimate itself should be treated with the customary caution, but yes, that is the conclusion which is apparently being drawn from the latest [...]

Just a few minutes ago I came back from the so called “Mobile Bar”, the weekly social get together of the internationals working with the different NGOs or other international organizations. And let me tell you something: You would not belief the kind of relief I felt right the minute I came to the rooms [...]

Nominate a blogger for a life time achievement award. First post must be made before 1 July 2002.

Nominate your favorite European blog(s) by expatriates here.

Earlier this week, the US Department of the Treasury’s order to freeze the assets of a variety of Viktor Bout companies was extended to the entire world by the UN Security Council’s sanctions committee. All assets belonging to the persons and organisations named in this this list are now subject to confiscation anywhere in the [...]

Dusty HeratDust. It’s everywhere. On your body, in your eyes, your hands never feel clean and clean clothes never stay like that for more than an hour. At night, visibility sometimes is less than 50 meters. And during the day, the city vanishes under a cloud of beige.

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Nation building in failed states can be a little tricky, as not just a few political strategists are realising these days. With respect to Iraq, the deadly result of their misconceptions can be watched on the hour every hour. This, on the other hand, has, for better or worse, reduced the world’s attention devoted to [...]

We live, as they say, in an uncertain world. But recently, if you have been noticing, in the economic sphere references to the high levels of uncertainty attached to any forecast have been coming fast and furious. And this warning needs to be taken seriously. The data is very ‘volatile’. Only today there is news [...]

And by their enemies. It is now clear that the Iraq and treatment of detainees policy of the current US administration has found little favour down at the Financial Times. The FT is hardly a ‘radical rag’ and views expressed there can hardly be dismissed in the same way some might feel able to lightly-brush-aside [...]