MARK ALEXANDER: Donald Trump and his cronies think that they can ride rough shod over the rest of the world. Trample others into submission. They think that all that they are able to survey belongs to them! It does not. Simply put, these shysters are thieves. They must not be allowed to get away with this. Trump is no better than Putin.
Because our European leaders are weak—and I include my own country’s leaders in this negative assessment—we cannot hope to be able to stop the US militarily if Trump decides to invade Greenland. But what Europe can do is boycott American goods and services. Europe has mighty purchasing power. It has in excess of 440m consumers Europe-wide, and that excludes UK consumers. America needs the European market, and it needs European consumers to buy their goods and services.
Because of Trump’s increasing and unceasing threats to take over Greenland, I propose that in the name of solidarity with Greenlanders and Danes that we boycott all American goods and services wherever and whenever possible. And avoid all trips and vacations in and to the United States. We can all do this regardless of where we live or come from. Trump needs to be taught a lesson.
Donald Trump and his band of bullying crooks mustn’t be allowed to get away with this thievery. Let us bring the American economy to its knees. And if we cannot, at least let us try. Greenland’s future depends on it. Don’t forget! If Trump succeeds with Greenland, which country will be next?
© Mark Alexander
All Rights Reserved
January 07, 2026
Stephen Miller Offers a Strongman’s View of the World
THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Trump’s trusted adviser is casting his hard-right gaze abroad, saying the world must be governed by “force.”
Stephen Miller has spent the bulk of his White House career furthering hard-right domestic policies that have resulted in mass deportations, family separations and the testing of the constitutional tenets that grant American citizenship.
Now, Mr. Miller, President Trump’s 40-year-old deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser, is casting his hard-right gaze further abroad: toward Venezuela and the Danish territory of Greenland, specifically.
Mr. Miller is doing so, the president’s advisers say, in service of advancing Mr. Trump’s foreign policy ambitions, which so far resemble imperialistic designs to exploit less powerful, resource-rich countries and territories the world over and use those resources for America’s gain. According to Mr. Miller, using brute force is not only on the table but also the Trump administration’s preferred way to conduct itself on the world stage.
“We live in a world in which you can talk all you want about international niceties and everything else, but we live in a world, in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power,” Mr. Miller told Jake Tapper of CNN on Monday, during a combative appearance in which he was pressed on Mr. Trump’s long-held desire to control Greenland.
“These are the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time,” he said.
This aggressive posture toward Greenland — and in turn, the rest of the world — is a perfect encapsulation of the raw power that Mr. Trump wants to project, even against Denmark, the NATO ally that controls Greenland. The moment also illustrates how people like Mr. Miller have ascended to the inner circle of a leader who has no interest in having his impulses checked, and how they exert their influence once they arrive there.
The moment also shows just how differently Mr. Trump has operated in his second term from how he did in his first. » | Katie Rogers | Katie Rogers is a White House correspondent who has covered both Trump administrations. She reported from Washington. | Tuesday, January 6, 2026
Stephen Miller has spent the bulk of his White House career furthering hard-right domestic policies that have resulted in mass deportations, family separations and the testing of the constitutional tenets that grant American citizenship.
Now, Mr. Miller, President Trump’s 40-year-old deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser, is casting his hard-right gaze further abroad: toward Venezuela and the Danish territory of Greenland, specifically.
Mr. Miller is doing so, the president’s advisers say, in service of advancing Mr. Trump’s foreign policy ambitions, which so far resemble imperialistic designs to exploit less powerful, resource-rich countries and territories the world over and use those resources for America’s gain. According to Mr. Miller, using brute force is not only on the table but also the Trump administration’s preferred way to conduct itself on the world stage.
“We live in a world in which you can talk all you want about international niceties and everything else, but we live in a world, in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power,” Mr. Miller told Jake Tapper of CNN on Monday, during a combative appearance in which he was pressed on Mr. Trump’s long-held desire to control Greenland.
“These are the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time,” he said.
This aggressive posture toward Greenland — and in turn, the rest of the world — is a perfect encapsulation of the raw power that Mr. Trump wants to project, even against Denmark, the NATO ally that controls Greenland. The moment also illustrates how people like Mr. Miller have ascended to the inner circle of a leader who has no interest in having his impulses checked, and how they exert their influence once they arrive there.
The moment also shows just how differently Mr. Trump has operated in his second term from how he did in his first. » | Katie Rogers | Katie Rogers is a White House correspondent who has covered both Trump administrations. She reported from Washington. | Tuesday, January 6, 2026
January 05, 2026
Dimon’s $770 Million Windfall Shows How Banking Is Great Again
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Trump administration is lifting regulations, and deal making is heating up. For Jamie Dimon, being JPMorgan Chase’s chief executive was more lucrative in 2025 than ever.
For nearly 15 years, Jamie Dimon, the bank chieftain, has carried around what might as well be a talisman when he sees regulators, elected officials and journalists.
At just the right time in meetings, he breaks out a single-page printout that he calls a “spaghetti chart.” On it, Mr. Dimon’s underlings have crammed, in tiny type, a comically complicated flowchart meant to represent the various laws and regulations to which his company, JPMorgan Chase, is subject.
The theatrics have finally worked.
The Trump administration is not just taking apart regulations but attacking whole regulatory agencies that date back to the 2008-9 financial crisis and were meant to keep banks from giving in to their worst impulses. Regulators have also made it easier for banks to peddle in risky assets again, like cryptocurrency, and President Trump paused enforcement of foreign anti-bribery rules.
The deregulatory bonanza alone makes it the best time in a generation to be a banker.
But there’s more! Falling interest rates and a permissive set of antitrust overseers are helping reverse a lull in the lucrative business of arranging mergers and acquisitions, as the $100 billion bidding war between Netflix and Paramount for Warner Bros. Discovery shows. Once imperiled real estate loans look steadier, thanks to the rebound of in-office work. Stocks are near record levels, the bond market had its best year since 2020, and gold and silver have soared — all of which feeds the trading businesses that keep Wall Street’s profit machine humming. » | Rob Copeland | Rob Copeland covers Wall Street and banks. | Monday, January 5, 2026
For nearly 15 years, Jamie Dimon, the bank chieftain, has carried around what might as well be a talisman when he sees regulators, elected officials and journalists.
At just the right time in meetings, he breaks out a single-page printout that he calls a “spaghetti chart.” On it, Mr. Dimon’s underlings have crammed, in tiny type, a comically complicated flowchart meant to represent the various laws and regulations to which his company, JPMorgan Chase, is subject.
The theatrics have finally worked.
The Trump administration is not just taking apart regulations but attacking whole regulatory agencies that date back to the 2008-9 financial crisis and were meant to keep banks from giving in to their worst impulses. Regulators have also made it easier for banks to peddle in risky assets again, like cryptocurrency, and President Trump paused enforcement of foreign anti-bribery rules.
The deregulatory bonanza alone makes it the best time in a generation to be a banker.
But there’s more! Falling interest rates and a permissive set of antitrust overseers are helping reverse a lull in the lucrative business of arranging mergers and acquisitions, as the $100 billion bidding war between Netflix and Paramount for Warner Bros. Discovery shows. Once imperiled real estate loans look steadier, thanks to the rebound of in-office work. Stocks are near record levels, the bond market had its best year since 2020, and gold and silver have soared — all of which feeds the trading businesses that keep Wall Street’s profit machine humming. » | Rob Copeland | Rob Copeland covers Wall Street and banks. | Monday, January 5, 2026
January 02, 2026
How Are Marlboro Cigarettes Made in a Factory? Produced Planet
FTSE 100 Breaks 10,000 Mark for First Time, Capping Stellar Year for UK Market
THE GUARDIAN: Blue-chip share index, created in 1984, has risen by more than 20% over past 12 months
The UK’s blue-chip share index has broken through the 10,000-point level for the first time, as global shares are lifted by a late “Santa rally”.
The FTSE 100 jumped on Friday morning to a high of 10,046, a new peak for the index, before easing slightly back.
The milestone marks a stellar 12 months for the “Footsie”, which rose by 21.5% over the course of 2025. » | Graeme Wearden | Friday, January 2, 2026
The UK’s blue-chip share index has broken through the 10,000-point level for the first time, as global shares are lifted by a late “Santa rally”.
The FTSE 100 jumped on Friday morning to a high of 10,046, a new peak for the index, before easing slightly back.
The milestone marks a stellar 12 months for the “Footsie”, which rose by 21.5% over the course of 2025. » | Graeme Wearden | Friday, January 2, 2026
January 01, 2026
Saudi Arabia, between Repression and Transformation | DW Documentary
Jan 1, 2026 | Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, is the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. For almost a decade, he has been radically transforming the country — at a breathtaking pace. Where is the modernizer and despot steering the kingdom?
Saudi Arabia is the world's leading exporter of crude oil. But Crown Prince MBS wants to prepare the country for the post-oil era. Two-thirds of the country's population is under 30 years old, and the crown prince is taking radical measures to turn the previously strictly conservative society on its head.
The documentary shows how contradictory Mohammed bin Salman's ambitions for his "Vision 2030" are, as it takes a look behind the scenes of the transformation.
On the one hand, there is the "Neom" project, which aims to create a futuristic new megacity in the desert. Tourism is to be expanded, major music and sporting events are to be brought to the country, and an extravagant lifestyle is being promoted.
At the same time, an authoritarian style of government continues to prevail, dissidents are sometimes brutally suppressed, and women's rights are still not fully granted - even if the influence of the ultra-conservative religious leaders of Wahhabism is no longer as strong as it once was.
Saudi Arabia is the world's leading exporter of crude oil. But Crown Prince MBS wants to prepare the country for the post-oil era. Two-thirds of the country's population is under 30 years old, and the crown prince is taking radical measures to turn the previously strictly conservative society on its head.
The documentary shows how contradictory Mohammed bin Salman's ambitions for his "Vision 2030" are, as it takes a look behind the scenes of the transformation.
On the one hand, there is the "Neom" project, which aims to create a futuristic new megacity in the desert. Tourism is to be expanded, major music and sporting events are to be brought to the country, and an extravagant lifestyle is being promoted.
At the same time, an authoritarian style of government continues to prevail, dissidents are sometimes brutally suppressed, and women's rights are still not fully granted - even if the influence of the ultra-conservative religious leaders of Wahhabism is no longer as strong as it once was.
Australian Beef Industry ‘Extremely Disappointed’ after China Hits Imports with 55% Tariff
THE GUARDIAN: Levy on beef exceeding quotas to begin immediately as Beijing seeks to protect domestic industry
Australian beef producers said they were “extremely disappointed” after China announced a 55% tariff on imports that exceed quota levels in a move to protect a domestic cattle industry slowly emerging from oversupply.
China’s commerce ministry said on Wednesday the total import quota for 2026 for Australia and other countries such as Brazil and the US covered under its new “safeguard measures” is 2.7m metric tons, roughly in line with the record 2.87m tons it imported overall in 2024.
The new annual quota levels are set below import levels for the first 11 months of 2025 for Australia as well as its top supplier, Brazil.
“The increase in the amount of imported beef has seriously damaged China’s domestic industry,” the ministry said in announcing the measure after an investigation launched last December.
The measure takes effect on 1 January for three years, with the total quota increasing annually. » | Martin Farrer and Dan Jervis-Bardy | Thursday, January 1, 2026
Australian beef producers said they were “extremely disappointed” after China announced a 55% tariff on imports that exceed quota levels in a move to protect a domestic cattle industry slowly emerging from oversupply.
China’s commerce ministry said on Wednesday the total import quota for 2026 for Australia and other countries such as Brazil and the US covered under its new “safeguard measures” is 2.7m metric tons, roughly in line with the record 2.87m tons it imported overall in 2024.
The new annual quota levels are set below import levels for the first 11 months of 2025 for Australia as well as its top supplier, Brazil.
“The increase in the amount of imported beef has seriously damaged China’s domestic industry,” the ministry said in announcing the measure after an investigation launched last December.
The measure takes effect on 1 January for three years, with the total quota increasing annually. » | Martin Farrer and Dan Jervis-Bardy | Thursday, January 1, 2026
Jahreswechsel mit neuer Währung
Sen. Bernie Sanders' AI Warning
Bernie Sanders is the man who should be president, not Trump. If Bernie Sanders were president, we would see a very different, fairer America. There wouldn’t be tax cuts for the superrich, and there would be universal healthcare, free at the point of delivery. Bernie Sanders would bring the USA into the civilised free world. — © Mark Alexander
December 31, 2025
Happy New Year! Blwyddyn Newydd Dda! Glückliches Neues Jahr! Bonne année ! Feliz Ano Novo! ¡Feliz Año Nuevo! ! سنة جديدة سعيدة
Deutschland: Was sich 2026 für Verbraucher ändert
December 30, 2025
Cryptocurrency Slump Erases 2025 Financial Gains and Trump-inspired Optimism
THE GUARDIAN: Last few months of the year have seen $1tn in value wiped from the market, despite all-time-high price of bitcoin
As 2025 comes to a close, Donald Trump’s favorable approach to cryptocurrency has not proven to be enough to sustain the industry’s gains, once the source of market-wide optimism and enthusiasm. The last few months of the year have seen $1tn in value wiped from the digital asset market, despite bitcoin hitting an all-time-high price of $126,000 on 6 October.
The October price peak was short-lived. Bitcoin’s price tumbled just days later after Trump’s announcement of 100% tariffs on China sent shockwaves across the market on 12 October. The crypto market saw $19bn liquidated in 24 hours – the largest liquidation event on record. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, saw a 40% drop in price over the next month. Eric Trump’s own crypto company endured a similar drop in its value in December. » | Johana Bhuiyan | Monday, December 29, 2025
As 2025 comes to a close, Donald Trump’s favorable approach to cryptocurrency has not proven to be enough to sustain the industry’s gains, once the source of market-wide optimism and enthusiasm. The last few months of the year have seen $1tn in value wiped from the digital asset market, despite bitcoin hitting an all-time-high price of $126,000 on 6 October.
The October price peak was short-lived. Bitcoin’s price tumbled just days later after Trump’s announcement of 100% tariffs on China sent shockwaves across the market on 12 October. The crypto market saw $19bn liquidated in 24 hours – the largest liquidation event on record. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, saw a 40% drop in price over the next month. Eric Trump’s own crypto company endured a similar drop in its value in December. » | Johana Bhuiyan | Monday, December 29, 2025
‘Be Fearful When Others Are Greedy’: Warren Buffett’s Sharpest Lessons in Investing
THE GUARDIAN: As the billionaire retires, he leaves memorable advice from his annual letters that include pithy takes on bubbles, discipline and long-term goals
Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor who is retiring at the end of 2025, has entertained and educated shareholders in his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate for many years with his pithy annual letters outlining the firm’s performance.
Every year since 1965 he has updated his investors on the journey as Berkshire morphed from a “struggling northern textile business” with $25m of shareholder equity when he took over, to an empire worth more than $1tn.
Here we pick out some of the choicest turns of phrase from the departing Sage of Omaha. » | Graeme Wearden | Tuesday, December 30, 2025
Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor who is retiring at the end of 2025, has entertained and educated shareholders in his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate for many years with his pithy annual letters outlining the firm’s performance.
Every year since 1965 he has updated his investors on the journey as Berkshire morphed from a “struggling northern textile business” with $25m of shareholder equity when he took over, to an empire worth more than $1tn.
Here we pick out some of the choicest turns of phrase from the departing Sage of Omaha. » | Graeme Wearden | Tuesday, December 30, 2025
Donald Trump's Tariffs Cause Bankruptcies to Soar to 15-year High
Chlorinated Chicken Is Back and Starmer Is Letting It Happen
Oh God! We beseech Thee to spare us the pain of Farage as our prime minister. The man has already done untold damage to the British economy with his ridiculous Brexit. Please don't let him finish the job and totally destroy it.
Moreover, let Americans enjoy their inferior quality foodstuffs, their chlorinated chicken and their hormone-injected beef. WE DON’T WANT THEM.
Starmer needs to grow a backbone and stop pandering to the Orange One. That goes for our royal family too. We Brits are Europeans, and our place is in Europe. We should also be able to enjoy the wonderful array of European foodstuffs. If we take just cheese alone, the variety of European cheeses can be counted in the several thousands. France alone produces nearly 1,800 cheese varieties. America simply cannot compete. For the gourmet, it has to be Europe, not America. — © Mark Alexander
Protests Erupt in Iran as Currency Plummets to Record Low | DW News
December 29, 2025
Steve Rosenberg: "Russian Industry Has Entered a Perfect Storm" Warns Russian Paper.
December 28, 2025
Michael Lambert: The West Takes It Easy Whilst China Plans Decades Ahead
Dec 28, 2025 | As we close out 2025, the sense of global anxiety is at an all-time high. From the re-election of Donald Trump to the structural decline of the UK and EU economies, it feels like the Western world is stuck in a loop of short-term thinking and bureaucratic failure.
Meanwhile, China continues its relentless rise. In this year-end reflection, I break down why our politicians are failing us, why the "HS2 mentality" is destroying UK infrastructure, and what we need to do to find a sustainable way forward in 2026. …
Meanwhile, China continues its relentless rise. In this year-end reflection, I break down why our politicians are failing us, why the "HS2 mentality" is destroying UK infrastructure, and what we need to do to find a sustainable way forward in 2026. …
December 27, 2025
December 26, 2025
Merry Christmas! Nadolig Llawen! Fröhliche Weihnachten! Joyeux Noël ! ¡Feliz Navidad! Buon Natale! ! عيد ميلاد مجيد
Mark Alexander
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