Michael Totten has an excellent article on Vietnam today. The country is a capitalist (or at least mostly-capitalist or semi-capitalist) success story and Ho Chi Minh’s worst nightmare: Hanoi’s economy looks and feels entirely unregulated; the city bursts with activity. … Continue reading →
A quote from Lenin that’s been running through my head, post Iran deal: “The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them.” Several commenters here have pointed out the ramifications of the Iran deal, particularly to … Continue reading →
It’s a proposal for a deal, anyway. The Greek Parliament has to approve. Here’s what it looks like so far: Monday’s deal requires Greece to give access to bailout monitors on the ground in Athens — including officials from the … Continue reading →
France and Greece against Germany?: You can’t exaggerate the importance of France’s decision to align itself with Greece before this weekend’s crisis meetings. As Wolfgang Munchau correctly notes in the Financial Times, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has finally succeeded in … Continue reading →
The Chinese stock market is in big trouble, and no one seems to quite know why. And although it’s always nice to have some company when you’re feeling ignorant, it’s not nice to have this much company. The question, as … Continue reading →
Will Greece get another chance?: Merkel and French President Francois Hollande worked together on a plan to save Greece from plunging into economic turmoil and possibly having to ditch the euro. This involved a medium-term conditional program and a short-term … Continue reading →
To add to what I wrote yesterday— Perhaps the large size of the “No” vote in the referendum represents an amalgam of interests. There are some on the left who want to play chicken with the EU and perhaps force … Continue reading →
Greece just said “no” to the bailout, in a landslide. That’s a victory for the socialist Greek government, which had urged a “no” vote. But is it a Pyrrhic victory? They seem to think this will strengthen their hand vis … Continue reading →
Sunday is referendum day for Greece. The leftist Prime Minister Alex Tsipras thought the country would reject the terms the EU has proposed for a bailout, but indications are that the country will vote “yes” (accepting the terms) instead. A … Continue reading →
…were to disappear, asks Bloomberg View writer Leonid Bershidsky: As Tim Edwards, senior director at S&P Dow Jones Indices, pointed out recently, “If Greek equities, Greek bonds and Greek GDP disappeared, it would certainly be a tragedy, but not of … Continue reading →
Glad you cleared that up, Hillary [hat tip: Ace]: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s vague statements on minimum wage confused MSNBC’s Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski on Monday morning. “Hillary Clinton did not say she specifically supports $15 an hour … Continue reading →
It’s always unexpected, except that so often it was expected by conservatives, who really don’t matter: Medicaid enrollment under Obamacare is skyrocketing past expectations, giving some GOP governors who oppose the program’s expansion under the health law an “I told … Continue reading →