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The expansion of global trade over time suggests that there are recognized benefits of trade, but there are also risks that have come into more focus in recent years.

Trigger warnings are not the same as censorship, but the media uses them to stoke division in the culture war. Nathan O'Hagan argues for some nuance in the debate

UK democracy needs radical reform – but there is little evidence our leaders are ready to take up the challenge, writes Alun Drake

Laura Achiro and Neha Bora Central banks in most advanced economies have tightened monetary policy by raising interest rates. Tighter financing conditions may make it harder for some businesses to refinance their debt or could mean they face less favourable terms when they do. This blog explores the extent to which bond maturities could crystallise … Continue reading How resilient are UK corporate bond issuers to refinancing risks? →

Credit card companies doubled interest rates on the false claim of inflated financial risk — and now to fight new late-fee rules, they’re threatening to raise them even higher.

In a few days time, I’ll be lining up in the 65-69 category for the Mooloolaba Olympic triathlon (1500m swim, 40km cycle, 10km run)[1]. People in this age category are commonly described as “aging”, “older”, “seniors”, “elders” and, worst of all, “elderly” (though this mostly kicks in at 70). The one thing we are never […]

Today (March 6, 2024), the Australian Bureau of Statistics released the latest – Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product, December 2023 – which shows that the Australian economy grew by just 0.2 per cent in the December-quarter 2023 and by 1.5 per cent over the 12 months (down from 2.1 per cent). If…

With 1.5 million Palestinians trapped in Rafah, a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable says an Israeli offensive would cut off all aid and seize an already collapsed health system.

The post Leaked U.S. Cable: Israeli Invasion of Rafah Would Have “Catastrophic Humanitarian Consequences” appeared first on The Intercept.

Source - Patreon

Source - Patreon

Source - Patreon

As I write this we’re awaiting the results of the Super Tuesday primary elections and obviously, we’ll be talking about that tomorrow. For now, I thought you might be interested in smart discussion of the presidential polls from Josh Marshall. First of all, he says that the good pollsters have a pretty good way of modeling the electorate and we shouldn’t dismiss the polls just because people don’t answer the phone. Ok. I’m a little bit skeptical that anyone can correctly divine who’s going to turn out in election in these weird times but I’ll take his word for it. Anyway, here are a couple more good insights worth thinking about: You need to believe these polls. But we need to break down what we’re talking about. People often say polling right now isn’t the same as this fall. But it’s not just that the election’s eight months from now and things can change over eight months. Public opinion just functions differently in the weeks before a national election than it does eight months before it. It becomes clearer who is and who isn’t going to vote.

Let ‘er rip: Biden has told friends he thinks Trump is wobbly, both intellectually and emotionally, and will explode if Biden mercilessly gigs and goads him — “go haywire in public,” as one adviser put it. Other sources tell us that Biden is looking for a fight. Biden’s instincts tell him to let it fly when warning about the consequences of Trump winning the presidency again. Biden told The New Yorker that Trump would refuse to admit losing, again. The “trigger Trump” approach would be a departure from a traditional Rose Garden re-election campaign. Instead of focusing on jobs and the economy — areas in which polls suggest Americans aren’t giving Biden much credit — Biden would be making the contest as much about Trump as his own accomplishments. One potential upside: It would help assuage concerns about Biden’s age by showing that at 81, he can still throw a Scranton punch. Some Democrats want to see a return of the Joe Biden who sliced and diced his 2012 opponent, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), in the 2012 vice presidential debate.

In the Alabama Supreme Court’s IVF ruling that sent shockwaves through the country, the word...

The Grayzone’s Max Blumenthal interviews Gabriel Shipton, film producer and brother of Julian Assange, during his latest visit to Washington DC, where he was pushing lawmakers to oppose the Biden administration’s prosecution of the jailed Wikileaks publisher.

The post Assange’s brother: “Julian could receive the death penalty” if extradited first appeared on The Grayzone.

The post Assange’s brother: “Julian could receive the death penalty” if extradited appeared first on The Grayzone.

Elie Mystal’s latest piece in The Nation is a must read. I agree with his title and his premise: The Supreme Court Must Me Stopped. My question is “So how do we stop them?” There IS a way, and we need to act. Before you go into the, “Yeah, but…” read the whole piece, he lays out several steps to take, starting with changing our attitudes. We have to stop treating them as they want to be treated, as 9 law shamans. We need to treat them as “politicians in robes.” This court has proven with its actions—through one politically motivated decision after another—that it is unfit to wield the power that it does.” The Supreme Court Must Be Stopped, Elie Mystal in the Nation. March 1, 2024 I’m an activist so I know that there are multiple steps to make something happen. Elie starts out with changing how we in the public perceive the court. Mystal, “The first step toward stopping the Supreme Court’s political actions is to treat the justices as political actors and subject them to all of the scrutiny, pressure, and protest normal political actors face every day.

The Florida GOP's so-called trans erasure bill mandates that insurance companies cover widely debunked "conversion therapy."

The post Florida Anti-Trans Bill Could Raise Everyone’s Health Insurance Costs appeared first on The Intercept.

THE Member for Coffs Harbour, Gurmesh Singh, has called on the NSW Government to provide more support to NSW Fire and Rescue (FRNSW) after revelations some of the organisation’s fleet is in disrepair. His call followed a NSW Budget Estimates hearing, which he said showed the Government had cut $9 million from the FRNSW budget,...

The post Coffs Harbour MP calls on Government to support NSW Fire and Rescue appeared first on News Of The Area.

The loss of ice on Kilimanjaro and other peaks will upend ecosystems and livelihoods.

The post African Glaciers Will Vanish In Our Lifetimes appeared first on Nautilus.

And if you think it’s just men who think this sort of thing: That’s MAGA for you.