Nouriel Roubini and Brunello Rosa, “The Makings of a 2020 Recession and Financial Crisis”
(Project Syndicate, 13 September 2018)
It’s hard to disagree with Nouriel’s warning: by 2020, the conditions will be ripe for a financial crisis, followed by a global recession. The global economy – which has been undergoing a sustained period of synchronized growth – will inevitably lose steam as unsustainable fiscal policies in the US start to phase out. Come 2020, the stage will be set for another downturn – and, unlike in 2008, governments will lack the policy tools to manage it (reads in 6-7 min).
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Satyajit Das, “How the Emerging-Markets Contagion Loop May Play”
(Bloomberg, 11 September 2018)
Contagion from Turkey and Argentina to other emerging markets is not a given, but it might happen. This article describes how trouble could spread. The major cause would be the “common lender channel phenomenon” – creditors curtailing lending to unaffected markets and as they seek to rebuild capital and realign risk. The volatility of and correlations among EM asset prices and currencies would also play as they increase in situations of stress (reads in 7-8 min).
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Rafael Behr, “The remainers’ biggest problem? Voters have switched off”
(The Guardian, 11 September 2018)
This is a brilliant article written about the UK exit from the EU, but it’s much broader than that: it deals with the issue of disengagement and therefore explains a lot of what’s happening globally. The reality is this: most voters don’t care about most things, and getting their attention is causing inconvenience. Sixty percent of all British voters agree with the statement: “I no longer care how or when we leave the EU, I just want it over and done with” (reads in 5-6 min).
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Rebecca Jennings, “Fidget spinners, weighted blankets, and the rise of anxiety consumerism”
(Vox, 10 September 2018)
This is an article about the growing “anxiety economy”, composed of products designed to calm us down. An entire, flourishing, industry now deals with the treatment of anxiety through items like fidget cubes and gravity blankets. What does that tell us when we start dealing with mental health issues by throwing products at them? Treating anxiety with stuff is a global phenomenon, but particularly marked in the US (reads in 8-10 min).
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Jen Doll, “How to Be Better at Parties”
(The New York Times – metered paywall, 12 September 2018)
The word “parties” could be replaced by “conferences” or any place where people meet future business and romantic partners and friends, and where small talk can become the stuff of life. This simple guide teaches us how to make seamless, beautiful small talk that leads to important conversations and connections (reads in 7-9 min).
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