Economy

By Clay Calvert | (The Conversation) | – – Word last week that Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel bankrolled wrestler Hulk Hogan’s invasion-of-privacy lawsuit against Gawker added a wrinkle to a case already featuring colorful characters and a US$140 million jury verdict. At a sensational and personal level, the story highlights the animus between PayPal […]

Fossil Fuels

Future of Petro-States Dim as Oil Prices sink and Teslas are on Horizon

contributors

By Michael T. Klare | (Tomdispatch.com) | – – Pity the poor petro-states. Once so wealthy from oil sales that they could finance wars, mega-projects, and domestic social peace simultaneously, some of them are now beset by internal strife or are on the brink of collapse as oil prices remain at ruinously low levels. Unlike […]

Development

Surprise! Despite Syria-Iraq Turmoil, Major Mideast Economies growing 3-4%

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – When you only hear bad news from a place, you form a negative opinion of it. But when I went looking for news about the economies of the most populous Middle Eastern countries, I was surprised to find that the IMF and/or World Bank is seeing […]

Employment

Aside from Super-Rich, All Americans are poorer this century

contributors

TeleSur | – – Soon, researchers predict, the middle class will no longer be the largest class in the United States. Households in the United States made less money in 2014 than they did in 1999, according to a study released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center, a decline that transcends class. According to the […]

Economy

Can Europe compete with China in post-Sanction Iran? Will the US Let it?

contributors

By Moritz Pieper | (The Conversation) | – – The cake is quite big, but everyone wants a slice. Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, visited Iran last month accompanied by business leaders from the energy, transportation and defence sectors. It was a return visit after the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, had made Italy his first […]

Economy

Chomsky: Who Rules the World? (Hint: Not States any more)

contributors

By Noam Chomsky | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – [This piece, the first of two parts, is excerpted from Noam Chomsky’s new book, Who Rules the World? (Metropolitan Books). Part 2 will be posted on Tuesday morning.] When we ask “Who rules the world?” we commonly adopt the standard convention that the actors in world […]

Banking

When Corporations use havens, you Pay their taxes; & the leading Candidates have Havens

contributors

By Nomi Prins with Craig Wilson | (Tomdispatch.com) | – – There’s a pile of money hiding offshore. It’s true that jobs are also leaving the United States because American companies find it convenient to cut labor costs by moving manufacturing abroad, the economic issue you’re hearing most about in this election season. But the […]

Books

Pulitzer Prize-Winner Michael Chabon Slams Israeli Occupation of Palestinians

contributors

By Joe Dyke | ( Your Middle East | – – American author Michael Chabon’s Jewish identity has long been central to his work. From 2001’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” — the story of two Jewish cousins before, during and after World War II — to 2007’s “The Yiddish Policemen’s […]

Employment

Saudi Arabia’s Vision: Cut Subsidies to Workers, Middle Class, put Women to Work

contributors

Courtney Freer | (The Conversation) | – – Saudi Arabia has released details of its Vision 2030 – an immensely ambitious plan which Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman says will end the Kingdom’s dependence on oil by 2020. To help reach that goal, the plan details major targets, such as the establishment of a […]