reading

A New Order of Things

fn1 G7 = the Group of 7: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US. E7 = the Emerging 7: China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, Indonesia and Turkey.

Suicidal Western Wars

fn1 Infant mortality rate is defined as the probability of dying between birth and exactly one year of age expressed per 1,000 live births.

The Blindness of Western Elites

fn1 Economic indicators expressed in PPP terms are more valid for international comparisons. This is because PPP-based metrics take into account the differences in cost of living and inflation in the respective countries. PPP is calculated using a ‘basket of goods’ approach. Using this method, two currencies will have the same value if a predetermined basket of goods is priced the same in both their countries.

The Global Explosion of Travel

fn1 The ‘rule of 72’ is a shortcut formula by which: years required to double an investment = 72 divided by the annual interest rate.

So – Has the West Lost It?

fn1 The European leaders, especially Merkel and Macron, were right to warn Trump in private that the American decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement would increase the likelihood of a world led by China. According to the minutes from a May 2017 G7 meeting obtained by Der Spiegel, Angela Merkel told Trump, ‘If the world’s largest economic power were to pull out, the field would be left to the Chinese.’ Der Spiegel reported that Merkel added that Xi Jinping is clever and would take advantage of the vacuum created. When it was clear that Trump would ignore wise European advice and make the US withdraw from the Agreement, Macron said resignedly, ‘Now China leads.’⁹¹