Section: Macleans (Canada)
The Disinflation Game
Good morning, and welcome to a brand new week. Today the biggest story in the world is the continuing fallout from the shootings and hostage takings in Paris this week. But the economic story is focused on growth – or lack of it – as worries about deflation mount around the world, pushing indexes down on Friday and this morning. The eurozone is...
In Paris, a show of unity as chilling details emerge
A show of unity in Republique Square on Sunday morning. (Laurent Cipriani, AP)Maclean’s contributor Nick Kozak is at the Paris march and filing live portraits as it unfolds. Follow Maclean’s on Instagram for his updates. PARIS — Tens of thousands of people including more than 40 world leaders streamed into the heart of Paris on Sunday...
World leaders join Parisians in show of solidarity
A crowd gather in Republique square before the demonstration, in Paris, France, Jan. 11, 2015. (AP) PARIS — Leaders from dozens of countries have arrived at the French presidential palace in an extraordinary display of global unity, while tens of thousands of people crammed into Paris’ Republique square to honour the 17 victims of three...
Why Canadian babies have it so good
Jonathon Gatehouse profiled Richelle Sandra Marie Bonnie Shiner, Canada’s first baby of 2015. He writes about all the advantages of being born in her new country. “It can be difficult to get beyond our ingrained pessimism and collective obsession with crises and disasters, but, as the new year gets under way, it seems appropriate to take...
Eurozone deflation is finally here (you knew it was coming)
Todays’ big story is not falling oil prices, but the mass shooting at French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo yesterday, during which 12 people were killed. But the shooting has had surprisingly little influence on world markets so far – the Sydney hostage taking last month rattle markets – with indexes up around the world. This despite...
NATO to shift its focus to Europe, create ‘spearhead force’
BRUSSELS, Belgium – Leaving combat operations in Afghanistan behind, NATO is shifting its focus to Europe in 2015 and the creation of its new ultra-rapid-reaction force, designed as a deterrent to Russia. The priority for the 28-member alliance will be to get the new agile expeditionary force into operation, but also settling the question of who...
Canadian exporters assess Russian currency crisis, sanctions
OTTAWA – Canadian exporters stung by Russia’s currency crisis and its retaliatory sanctions against the West wonder what 2015 will hold for a market filled with promise less than 12 months ago. Companies from farm-equipment manufacturers to pork producers spent much of 2014 adjusting to the economic instability in Russia, a country that...
Failure or triumph for U.S. Democrats? Answer: Yes.
Jason Reed/Reuters American presidents are term-limited by law, two and out. Having served his two terms, much will depend on the legacy Barack Obama leaves the next Democratic nominee. Only two months ago, it seemed he had managed to wreck everything for his party. But it’s been a long two months. The mid-term elections of Nov. 4 were a...
Good news, bad news
A fresh start: After spending 16 years in prison for spying on the U.S., Gerardo Hernández is reunited with his pregnant wife, Adriana Perez, in HavanaEnrique de la Osa/Reuters Good News Falling from the skies The search for an AirAsia jet that disappeared en route from Indonesia to Singapore had turned up only some oily spots on the ocean, as of...
Why the oil crash caught so many by surprise (but shouldn’t have)
(AP Photo/Eric Gay) In February 2014, I rang up Bob Hoye, a financial forecaster in Vancouver well known for his bearish outlook, to talk about where oil prices might be headed. It was an engaging and enlightening interview, and it led to this column. Here’s an excerpt: So what does Hoye see coming down the pipe for oil, that sludgy...
