The grim reality of Europe’s economic problems. Why Trump’s presidency will see a rise in crony capitalism. What will Putin do next? No one really knows. What are microplastics doing to our health? No one really knows. What’s cooking in Silicon Valley kitchens?
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
Kenneth Rogoff, Europe’s Economy Is Stalling Out
(Project Syndicate, 28 November 2024)
A good analytical overview of the current predicament faced by France and Germany. Neither economy is growing at the moment (zero in Germany and less than 1% in France) but their situations are different. With a budget deficit of 6% of GDP and a debt-to-GDP ratio of 112%, France cannot simply grow its way out of its debt and pension problems. Its fiscal trajectory is unsustainable without far-reaching reforms. Germany, with a debt-to-GDP ratio of just 63%, has ample room to overcome its current malaise, but the key question is how long that will take. In both countries, public support for structural reforms remains low (metered paywall that may require prior registration, 6-8 min).
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Paul Krugman, Crony Capitalism Is Coming to America
(The New York Times, 25 November 2025)
Since US law offers scope for discretionary enforcement, Krugman argues that the potential for and extent of political favoritism will be greater than even in the previous Trump administration (recent research shows that companies with Republican ties were then significantly more likely to have their applications for tariff exemptions approved). In his opinion, the US risks becoming an economy in which business success depends less on good management than on having the right connections, often purchased by doing political or financial favors for those in power. Ultimately, this will exert a drag on economic growth (gifted article, 5-7 min).
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Steve Rosenberg, After days of escalation, what will Putin do next?
(BBC, 23 November 2025)
The simple answer to this fundamental question: nobody knows, including perhaps, Putin himself. The author once described Vladimir Putin “as a car with no reverse gear and no brakes, careering down the highway, accelerator pedal stuck to the floor.” Therefore, the only relative certainty we have at this stage is that we shouldn’t expect the “Putinmobile to suddenly decelerate or de-escalate now in the face of longer-range missile strikes on Russia.” As for nuclear weapons, Putin has been engaged in nuclear saber-rattling since the beginning, with Western governments successfully crossing several of his red lines, Putin’s use of a tactical nuclear weapon in the framework of a limited nuclear war remains an option. (free access, 5-6 min).
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Kristin Houser, Are microplastics really destroying our health?
(Freethink, 11 November 2024)
A good question to ask at a time when international negotiations are just taking place in South Korea to (hopefully) clinch an ‘essential’ deal on plastics pollution. Microplastics are in our brains, hearts, and blood, but we still don’t know what are they doing to us. An increasing number of studies suggest that having microplastics in our bodies is probably harming us in some way, but they don’t prove it. As this article explains, the science is very hard. A good overview (free access, 5-7 min).
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Priya Anand, Private chefs for Silicon Valley’s elite spill the (precisely 70-degree) tea
(The San Francisco Standard, 15 November 2024)
A peek into the kitchen of some wealthy tech entrepeneurs and executives. A short and amusing read that reveals more about those for whom the cooks cook than the cooks themselves (metered paywall, 4-5 min).
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