It may all have happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but there’s a secret weapon in every Star Wars film that’s found almost everywhere humans live on Earth. It explains how the scrappy Rebel Alliance were able to defeat the mighty Galactic Empire, with all its high-tech weaponry, vast space […]
Associated Press NEW YORK (Project Syndicate) — Financial markets were cheered recently by the news that the United States and China have reached a “phase one” deal to prevent further escalation of their bilateral trade war. But there is actually very little to cheer about. In exchange for China’s tentative commitment to buy more U.S. […]
1 / 3 There has been international condemnation of a ‘travesty of justice’ that five unnamed aides to the Saudi crown prince were sentenced to death for last year’s murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, while the plot’s alleged masterminds walked free There has been international condemnation of a ‘travesty of justice’ that five unnamed aides […]
Getty At a press conference in September 2018, Department of Homeland Security agents told reporters they had successfully broken up a transnational ring of illegal massage parlors forcing Asian immigrants into sex slavery. What they didn’t say, however, is that two of their own agents had paid for sex with the alleged victims. As part […]
Democrats and Republicans are headed into the holidays while facing an impeachment impasse. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reiterated Monday she can’t select impeachment managers until she knows “what sort of trial the Senate will conduct,” while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called her position “absurd,” The Washington Post reports. After the House of […]
Economists say that 2020 will be a positive — though not exactly stellar — year for the housing market. And that could be good news for renters and home buyers alike. But that’s assuming experts’ forecasts are right. “If interest rates go up 100 basis points, we’ll be off,” Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie […]
Stocks climbed toward fresh records on Monday as investors focused on a report that China will cut import tariffs for frozen pork, pharmaceuticals and some high-tech components starting from Jan. 1. Investors were also eyeing developments at Boeing, after the Dow component announced that president CEO Dennis Muilenburg has resigned amid a controversy surrounding its […]
Getty Images Refrigerators on display at a Best Buy store. The numbers: Orders for durable goods sank 2% in November, the U.S. government said Monday. This is the biggest decline since May. Economists had expected a strong 1% rebound in durable-goods orders in November as a result of the end of the General Motors GM, […]
As the year and the decade come to a close, China can look back at extraordinary achievements and alarming warning signs. This seeming contradiction is part of what makes the country so fascinating to watch, and so frustrating for outside investors and entrepreneurs. On the one hand, China’s per capita GDP finally topped $10,000 this […]
The numbers: Sales of newly-constructed homes in the U.S. increased 1.3% on a monthly basis in November to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 719,000, the government reported Monday. While the November sales volume represented a monthly increase, that’s only because the data for October were revised. Previously, the government had said that new-home sales occurred […]