Between July of 2022 and February of last year, cocoa prices jumped by 136 percent, partially due to climate extremes in West Africa’s Cocoa Belt.
Sunday, July 6, 2025
How Much More Is Europe Prepared to Lose?
The EU has already dramatically remade its societies, governance structure, and social values over the past three years in fight against Russia. Where will it end?
US Export Controls and the Restructuring of Global Value Chains: An Analysis of Japanese Multinationals’ Exits From China
If tighter trade controls are making it more difficult for Japanese firms in China to access advanced components and technologies, the effects may be reflected in the exit behaviour of Japanese firms from China rather than in trade statistics.
Is Trump Poisoning the Prospects of Negotiation With Russia Over Ukraine with His Minerals Deal?
The US looks to be throwing a spanner into the possibility of Ukraine peace talks by getting Ukraine to sign over mineral rights to the US.
Interview: How Elon Musk Blurs the Lines of Free Speech
Billionaire Elon Musk’s new job raises tricky First Amendment questions, with implications for public health.
Will Some EU States Seize Russia’s “Shadow Fleet” In The Baltic?
Could major incident in the Baltic Sea spark a crisis that leads to Russian escalation, thwarting Ukraine talks?
2:00PM Water Cooler 2/14/2025
~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, Syndemics; USAID shutdown vexes evangelicals; from their websites, the DOGEbags couldn’t code a lemonade stand; Boeing not out of the woods; Valentine’s Day musical interlude ~
‘Going Against Trump Policies Is Not Fraud’: White House Panned Over Absurd Defense of DOGE
Administration efforts to defend DOGE confirm that spending cuts are ideological, and not value-neutral ‘efficiency’ or cost reduction
How Real and Sustainable Is Argentina’s Much-Touted Economic Recovery?
Over the past year Milei’s government has managed to slash inflation as well as post Argentina’s largest ever annual trade surplus. But can it turn round the industrial downturn it itself unleashed?
How Climate Denial is Fueling a U.S. Homeowners Insurance Crisis and Risking a 2008-Style Financial Meltdown
A climate-change-driven insurance and eventual mortgage/housing price crisis is getting momentum. And unlike 2008, price recovery is unlikely
Europe’s Challenge and Opportunity in the Trump Era: Building Coalitions of the Willing
How some ideas for bolstering Europe’s position in the Trump era are not as well thought through as they ought to be.
2:00PM Water Cooler 2/13/2025
~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, Syndemics; Yanis Varoufakis on Trumponomics; DOGE not putting up the numbers on fraud; Zephyr Teachout on the real powers the Democrats have ~
