THE GUARDIAN: The shockwaves sent by the US president could finally push Switzerland closer to the EU
Growing up in Zurich often felt like being removed from the world. It shouldn’t be that way: after all, Switzerland is at the heart of Europe. Riding on the cosy Zurich trams, one hears all the world’s languages; and the airport offers more direct intercontinental flights than Berlin. And yet, coming of age in Switzerland is like sitting in an aquarium looking at the world through a thick bulletproof window.
That glass was shattered last week when Donald Trump announced 39% tariffs on Swiss exports. The US is the most important destination for Swiss products: 18.6% of all its exports go there. If Trump maintains the tariffs, sales to the US “will be effectively annihilated”, said Switzerland’s industry lobbying group. The rightwing Swiss business minister, Guy Parmelin, announced a furlough programme to shield the economy from “mass layoffs”. The tabloid newspaper Blick captured the mood with a stark black front page, pronouncing it a “black day” for Switzerland. » | Joseph de Weck | Wednesday, August 13, 2025
Wednesday, 13 August 2025
Tuesday, 12 August 2025
How Will Falling Birth Rates Affect the Global Economy? | BBC News
Sunday, 10 August 2025
Trump Goes Nuts as Switzerland’s Gold Move Puts $48 Billion US Deficit at Risk
Saturday, 9 August 2025
"This Is Dictatorship, NOT Presidency!" - Jeffrey Sachs Tears Trump Tariffs
How Private Equity Hollowed Out the UK’s Economy – Angus Hanton | Spectator Cover
Jul 25, 2025 | Britain has become a ‘vassal state’ to foreign money – and especially to American private equity.
In this episode, economist and author Angus Hanton joins Spectator TV to explain how private equity is hollowing out the UK economy, why the profits are heading overseas, and what the government could do to stop it.
Angus is the co-founder of the Intergenerational Foundation and author of Vassal State: How America Runs Britain.
In this episode, economist and author Angus Hanton joins Spectator TV to explain how private equity is hollowing out the UK economy, why the profits are heading overseas, and what the government could do to stop it.
Angus is the co-founder of the Intergenerational Foundation and author of Vassal State: How America Runs Britain.
Living the Nightmare’: Swiss in Shock as 39% U.S. Tariff Takes Effect | APT
Aug 7, 2025 | Swiss citizens and business leaders are reeling after Washington imposed a staggering 39% tariff on Swiss exports—far above those negotiated by the EU or UK.
The surprise move has sent shockwaves through industries like luxury watches, chocolate, machinery, and gold refining. With tens of thousands of jobs at risk and GDP projected to drop up to 0.6%, Swiss officials are scrambling.
President Karin Keller Sutter failed to secure a reduced rate during last-ditch talks in D.C., and now Switzerland is convening emergency meetings while urging calm and pursuing continued negotiations with U.S. authorities.
This video captures the sense of economic alarm and national urgency gripping Switzerland as it enters a new era of trade turbulence.
The surprise move has sent shockwaves through industries like luxury watches, chocolate, machinery, and gold refining. With tens of thousands of jobs at risk and GDP projected to drop up to 0.6%, Swiss officials are scrambling.
President Karin Keller Sutter failed to secure a reduced rate during last-ditch talks in D.C., and now Switzerland is convening emergency meetings while urging calm and pursuing continued negotiations with U.S. authorities.
This video captures the sense of economic alarm and national urgency gripping Switzerland as it enters a new era of trade turbulence.
Friday, 8 August 2025
Argentina: Chainsaw Economics, Dead Dogs & Milei Mayhem | Mehdi Hasan & Diana Mondino | Head to Head
Aug 7, 2025 | In 2024, Argentina’s far-right President Javier Milei launched an economic overhaul that slashed public spending, gutted state institutions and triggered massive protests. The government dubbed it “chainsaw economics”.
Critics say it’s deepening poverty and pushing the country into chaos, while Milei continues to make headlines for bizarre behaviour, including claims he takes political advice from his dead dog’s clones. So who is really running Argentina – and at what cost?
Mehdi Hasan goes head-to-head with Diana Mondino, who served as Milei’s foreign minister before being abruptly fired. She defends the president’s policies, brushes off Milei’s personal attacks, and distances herself from his more extreme views, including his support for organ sales and his insults towards the late Pope Francis.
Joining the discussion are:
Matias Vernengo – Economics professor at Bucknell University and former official at Argentina’s Central Bank
Maxwell Marlow – Director of public affairs at the Adam Smith Institute
Martina Rodriguez – Member of the Argentina Solidarity Campaign and the Feminist Assembly of Latin Americans
Spanish (Latin American) subtitles are available.
Critics say it’s deepening poverty and pushing the country into chaos, while Milei continues to make headlines for bizarre behaviour, including claims he takes political advice from his dead dog’s clones. So who is really running Argentina – and at what cost?
Mehdi Hasan goes head-to-head with Diana Mondino, who served as Milei’s foreign minister before being abruptly fired. She defends the president’s policies, brushes off Milei’s personal attacks, and distances herself from his more extreme views, including his support for organ sales and his insults towards the late Pope Francis.
Joining the discussion are:
Matias Vernengo – Economics professor at Bucknell University and former official at Argentina’s Central Bank
Maxwell Marlow – Director of public affairs at the Adam Smith Institute
Martina Rodriguez – Member of the Argentina Solidarity Campaign and the Feminist Assembly of Latin Americans
Spanish (Latin American) subtitles are available.
Huge Economic Problems Coming for Republicans and the U.S. | Explainer
Gastro am Limit: Berlins Restaurants kämpfen ums Überleben
Faisal Islam: Why Has the Bank of England Cut Rates?
BBC: So why has the Bank of England cut rates when inflation is well above its target of 2% and seems set to remain there?
This vexed question is why the proceedings of the Bank's nine member Monetary Policy Committee were so close and even involved an unprecedented second vote.
The bottom line is that in the medium term the Bank sees the jobs market as exerting less upward pressure on inflation, because of a fall in the number of job vacancies and an increase in the jobless rate.
But Bank governor Andrew Bailey and his team will have some explaining to do.
Inflation remains high, and the very visible food price inflation figures look set to go up over the remainder of the year.
So the ripples of inflation remain and there are risks around an expected further cut in interest rates in November.
It is notable that both deputy governor Clare Lombardelli and chief economist Huw Pill voted to hold rates, against the judgement of the governor. » | Faisal Islam | Economics editor | Thursday, August 7, 2025
Related article here.
This vexed question is why the proceedings of the Bank's nine member Monetary Policy Committee were so close and even involved an unprecedented second vote.
The bottom line is that in the medium term the Bank sees the jobs market as exerting less upward pressure on inflation, because of a fall in the number of job vacancies and an increase in the jobless rate.
But Bank governor Andrew Bailey and his team will have some explaining to do.
Inflation remains high, and the very visible food price inflation figures look set to go up over the remainder of the year.
So the ripples of inflation remain and there are risks around an expected further cut in interest rates in November.
It is notable that both deputy governor Clare Lombardelli and chief economist Huw Pill voted to hold rates, against the judgement of the governor. » | Faisal Islam | Economics editor | Thursday, August 7, 2025
Related article here.
Trump's Fake Tariffs Kick In as Economy Slows and the World Holds Its Breath for Recession
ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here.
Thursday, 7 August 2025
This is Way Worse Than You Think - America Is in Decline! - Jeffrey Sachs
Aug 6, 2025 | Jeffrey Sachs is a world-renowned economist, professor, and global development expert known for speaking truth to power. With decades of experience advising governments, the United Nations, and world leaders, Sachs is not afraid to challenge U.S. foreign policy, corporate interests, and global economic injustice.
He served as the Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, a UN advisor under Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon, and has played a major role in shaping international economic policy in Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe.
In recent years, Sachs has gained attention for his bold criticisms of U.S. military interventions, his warnings about global economic collapse, and his support for multipolar cooperation, including better relations with China, Russia, and the Global South.
He served as the Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, a UN advisor under Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon, and has played a major role in shaping international economic policy in Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe.
In recent years, Sachs has gained attention for his bold criticisms of U.S. military interventions, his warnings about global economic collapse, and his support for multipolar cooperation, including better relations with China, Russia, and the Global South.
Rise of Russia’s Oligarchs: How They Seized Power and Built Empires | PARTS 1 & 2 | SLICE WHO
Nov 14, 2024 | At the turn of the century, Russia's oligarchs had amassed unimaginable fortunes, building financial empires in the chaos following the Soviet Union’s collapse. These powerful men controlled Russia’s key industries, wielding influence that rivaled the state. They built their wealth by seizing state assets through savvy, often ruthless deals, becoming billionaires in just a few years.
Among them was Boris Berezovsky, once a kingmaker in Russian politics and a symbol of the new elite. Berezovsky helped launch Putin to power, only to later become his fiercest enemy. As Russia’s government began reclaiming these oligarchs’ assets and dismantling their empires, Berezovsky led a high-stakes battle from exile.
This documentary dives into the fortunes built, the backroom deals, and the conflicts that arose between Russia’s billionaire class and a state determined to regain control, revealing the untold drama of wealth, betrayal, and power at the heart of modern Russia.
Among them was Boris Berezovsky, once a kingmaker in Russian politics and a symbol of the new elite. Berezovsky helped launch Putin to power, only to later become his fiercest enemy. As Russia’s government began reclaiming these oligarchs’ assets and dismantling their empires, Berezovsky led a high-stakes battle from exile.
This documentary dives into the fortunes built, the backroom deals, and the conflicts that arose between Russia’s billionaire class and a state determined to regain control, revealing the untold drama of wealth, betrayal, and power at the heart of modern Russia.
Bank of England Cuts Interest Rates as It Warns Food Costs Could Push Inflation to 4%
THE GUARDIAN: Bank’s policymakers cut base rate by quarter point to 4% amid concern about strength of UK economy
The Bank of England has warned that soaring food prices could drive inflation to 4% as it voted for a fifth cut in interest rates in a year, amid mounting concerns over the strength of the UK economy.
In one of its closest decisions since its independence more than 25 years ago, the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted by 5-4 to cut its key base rate by a quarter point to 4%.
Taking borrowing costs to the lowest level since March 2023, a cut was widely expected in financial markets. However, the decision was a close call, with the rate-setting panel for the first time in history holding two votes before reaching its verdict.
Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s governor, said: “We’ve cut interest rates today, but it was a finely balanced decision. Interest rates are still on a downward path, but any future rate cuts will need to be made gradually and carefully.” » | Richard Partington | Senior economics correspondent | Thursday, August 7, 2025
The Bank of England has warned that soaring food prices could drive inflation to 4% as it voted for a fifth cut in interest rates in a year, amid mounting concerns over the strength of the UK economy.
In one of its closest decisions since its independence more than 25 years ago, the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted by 5-4 to cut its key base rate by a quarter point to 4%.
Taking borrowing costs to the lowest level since March 2023, a cut was widely expected in financial markets. However, the decision was a close call, with the rate-setting panel for the first time in history holding two votes before reaching its verdict.
Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s governor, said: “We’ve cut interest rates today, but it was a finely balanced decision. Interest rates are still on a downward path, but any future rate cuts will need to be made gradually and carefully.” » | Richard Partington | Senior economics correspondent | Thursday, August 7, 2025
Wednesday, 6 August 2025
China Is a Nation of Savers. Many Are Drowning in Debt.
THE NEW YORK TIMES: As Beijing pushes consumer lending to stimulate the economy, millions of Chinese borrowers, especially the young, are falling into debt spirals.
China is a nation of savers. The Chinese government wants its people to spend more and save less. It also wants them to take on more debt, all for the sake of saving the economy from a four-year slump.
The national financial regulator urged banks in March to expand consumer lending and offer more flexible repayment terms. Last month, policymakers promised to provide “innovative” financial services to boost consumption.
Yet many Chinese consumers are wary. An alarming number of them are already defaulting on their debt.
From 2021 to 2024, China’s total household savings grew 50 percent, as people scared off by a big decline in housing values stuffed their money in banks. During the same period, the number of loans that households could not afford to pay back nearly doubled.
For Beijing, expanding access to credit may seem like a quick way to stimulate the economy. But this push for consumers to borrow risks deepening a growing personal debt crisis. Many borrowers, particularly young people, are caught in cycles of debt, driven by poor financial literacy, high youth unemployment and stagnant wages. » | Li Yuan | Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Read in Simplified Chinese | 阅读简体中文版
Read in Traditional Chinese 閱讀繁體中文版
China is a nation of savers. The Chinese government wants its people to spend more and save less. It also wants them to take on more debt, all for the sake of saving the economy from a four-year slump.
The national financial regulator urged banks in March to expand consumer lending and offer more flexible repayment terms. Last month, policymakers promised to provide “innovative” financial services to boost consumption.
Yet many Chinese consumers are wary. An alarming number of them are already defaulting on their debt.
From 2021 to 2024, China’s total household savings grew 50 percent, as people scared off by a big decline in housing values stuffed their money in banks. During the same period, the number of loans that households could not afford to pay back nearly doubled.
For Beijing, expanding access to credit may seem like a quick way to stimulate the economy. But this push for consumers to borrow risks deepening a growing personal debt crisis. Many borrowers, particularly young people, are caught in cycles of debt, driven by poor financial literacy, high youth unemployment and stagnant wages. » | Li Yuan | Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Read in Simplified Chinese | 阅读简体中文版
Read in Traditional Chinese 閱讀繁體中文版
Trump Said He Would Double Tariffs on India as Punishment for Buying Russian Oil.
THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Trump announced on Wednesday that he would double tariffs on India, to 50 percent, beginning this month as punishment for the country’s continued purchase of Russian oil.
Mr. Trump coupled the new, punishing tariff level with a threat to impose similar penalties on other countries that buy Russian energy as he sought to use trade policies to pressure the Kremlin into resolving the war in Ukraine.
Under a new executive order, India would face a 25 percent tariff starting on Aug. 27 if it continues to buy oil from Russia. That would be in addition to a 25 percent duty that Mr. Trump announced last week, citing unfair trade barriers, which he plans to implement beginning Thursday. » | Tony Romm | Reporting from Washington | Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Mr. Trump coupled the new, punishing tariff level with a threat to impose similar penalties on other countries that buy Russian energy as he sought to use trade policies to pressure the Kremlin into resolving the war in Ukraine.
Under a new executive order, India would face a 25 percent tariff starting on Aug. 27 if it continues to buy oil from Russia. That would be in addition to a 25 percent duty that Mr. Trump announced last week, citing unfair trade barriers, which he plans to implement beginning Thursday. » | Tony Romm | Reporting from Washington | Wednesday, August 6, 2025
The EU Is a Colossus. So Why Is It Cowering before Trump Like a Mouse?
THE GUARDIAN: With its woeful trade deal, Europe prostrated itself before the president. We need a leader who will tell him where to shove it
Who remembers the spate of “introduction videos” that emerged during the first Trump administration – a series of tongue-in-cheek clips about European countries to introduce them to Donald Trump? The viral video trend was sparked by the Dutch comedian Arjen Lubach, who ended his segment on the Netherlands with: “We totally understand it’s going to be America first, but can we just say the Netherlands second?” It seems that Europe’s leaders remember the videos all too well; that they internalised the caustic message a little bit too much.
Afraid of rocking the boat during its trade negotiations with Trump, the EU decided to pre-emptively sink itself. Instead of strategic autonomy, it will spend hundreds of billions of dollars on American weapons; in place of future climate goals, it will pour hundreds of billions into US natural gas; instead of a mutual tariff reduction, it will take a huge unilateral hit to EU exporters; instead of self-respect, humiliating prostration.
The new trade “deal” announced by Trump and Ursula von der Leyen last month left a five-year-old’s worth of whys to ponder. Why does the EU, a colossus, think it is a mouse? Why is it content to merely nibble at the edges of power? Will it ever respect itself as much as China, which met Trump tariff for tariff until he backed off? Why don’t its politicians understand that voters want leaders who will defend them, and that, as for Canada’s Mark Carney and Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, there are actually electoral rewards to be reaped by doing so without reserve? Why, even after Brexit, do they ignore the lesson that these same voters prioritise identity and emotion over cold economic rationality? » | Alexander Hurst | Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Who remembers the spate of “introduction videos” that emerged during the first Trump administration – a series of tongue-in-cheek clips about European countries to introduce them to Donald Trump? The viral video trend was sparked by the Dutch comedian Arjen Lubach, who ended his segment on the Netherlands with: “We totally understand it’s going to be America first, but can we just say the Netherlands second?” It seems that Europe’s leaders remember the videos all too well; that they internalised the caustic message a little bit too much.
Afraid of rocking the boat during its trade negotiations with Trump, the EU decided to pre-emptively sink itself. Instead of strategic autonomy, it will spend hundreds of billions of dollars on American weapons; in place of future climate goals, it will pour hundreds of billions into US natural gas; instead of a mutual tariff reduction, it will take a huge unilateral hit to EU exporters; instead of self-respect, humiliating prostration.
The new trade “deal” announced by Trump and Ursula von der Leyen last month left a five-year-old’s worth of whys to ponder. Why does the EU, a colossus, think it is a mouse? Why is it content to merely nibble at the edges of power? Will it ever respect itself as much as China, which met Trump tariff for tariff until he backed off? Why don’t its politicians understand that voters want leaders who will defend them, and that, as for Canada’s Mark Carney and Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, there are actually electoral rewards to be reaped by doing so without reserve? Why, even after Brexit, do they ignore the lesson that these same voters prioritise identity and emotion over cold economic rationality? » | Alexander Hurst | Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Tuesday, 5 August 2025
Milei Tames Inflation, but Argentines Still Struggle to Afford Basics
Aug 5, 2025 | Argentina’s government has slashed inflation from a record monthly high of 25 percent in 2023, to around two percent last month. But its economic policies have made housing, health and education more expensive.
Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo reports from Buenos Aires, Argentina on who's struggling and who's benefitting.
Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo reports from Buenos Aires, Argentina on who's struggling and who's benefitting.
Brazil: Bolsonaro under House Arrest, Escalating Tensions with Trump
Aug 5, 2025 | Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has been placed under house arrest by the Supreme Court.
He’s on trial for allegedly masterminding a coup to remain in office after he was defeated at the ballot box in 2022. The far-right leader denies he tried to overthrow the country’s current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Donald Trump’s administration has condemned the arrest calling it politically motivated and a silencing of the opposition.
He’s on trial for allegedly masterminding a coup to remain in office after he was defeated at the ballot box in 2022. The far-right leader denies he tried to overthrow the country’s current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Donald Trump’s administration has condemned the arrest calling it politically motivated and a silencing of the opposition.
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