Politics

U.S. elected local officials seeking to create and sustain solar industry job growth in their Congressional districts should be aware of and advocate accordingly on a current piece of U.S. trade policy toward China that is in the making — the International Trade Commission (ITC) investigation: Certain Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Products from China and Taiwan […]

Special Report — North American defense, Arctic security, and Russian imperial delusions are large interlocking topics. My purpose here is to provide context, linkages, and a broad analysis with some key specifics. In the space permitted, the assessment cannot be comprehensive. But I will examine some of the crucial actual and potential threats to Canada […]

As of this writing, separate military offensives by Syrian government forces and jihadist militants from Islamic State (IS) were advancing rapidly on the city of Aleppo, the key remaining urban stronghold of the secular rebel FSA, which was forced to relinquish control of the city of Homs earlier this year. The loss of Aleppo likely […]

<p>These days, America competing with China is like an American runner competing against a Chinese runner, except that the American runner has to carry an anvil. It may be against the rules, but there&#8217;s little anyone can do about it. The Chinese have the advantage. But let’s not delude ourselves about China&#8217;s aims.</p>

<p>With all the barriers stacked up against American entrepreneurs, a bright spot has been access to working capital through the Export-Import Bank, which is essential if American exporters are to compete in the global marketplace. Ex-Im provides working capital guarantees, insurance and direct loans to American manufacturers, helping to open new foreign markets that allow [&hellip;]</p>

Egypt held its presidential election on May 25, and, as seemed a foregone conclusion, the victor was Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the former commander of the armed forces and the leader of the coup that toppled the Islamist government of President Mohammed Morsi in June 2013. The recently retired military leader won 96.9 percent of the [&hellip;]

President Xi Jinping has broadened his government’s anti-graft campaign to include former senior Communist Party officials and high-ranking military officers. In an unprecedented move, the authorities recently rounded up hundreds of associates and relatives of Zhou Yongkang, a former domestic security czar who retired from the Politburo Standing Committee in 2012. Perhaps even more surprising [&hellip;]

<p>ChumpCar racing is a grassroots, accessible-to-all twist on professional stock car racing. ChumpCar International, the sport’s major organizer, describes the activity best: &#8220;Real Racing, Real Tracks, Real Cheap Cars.&#8221; Surprisingly, however, despite its rugged and rusted appearance, ChumpCar racing can serve as an inspiring example for eager leaders looking get their companies’ engines revving.</p>

In June of 2013, President Obama announced plans for sweeping reforms in coal fired power generation. His Climate Action Plan included a call for the EPA to draft carbon emission standards aimed at putting “an end to the limitless dumping of carbon pollution” from power plants. The President’s words appeared to be the death knell [&hellip;]

SPECIAL REPORT—As we enter the summer months before the fall mid-term elections, all political eyes in the United States and around the world are on the U.S. Senate. The GOP needs to pick up six seats in November’s elections to take outright control of the U.S. Senate in 2015. Here’s why the GOP will do [&hellip;]

A metaphor for President Obama&#8217;s recent trip to Asia was the widely aired game of soccer he had with a Japanese robot. In essence, Japan made Obama kick the impending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) — which unites 12 economies around the Pacific Rim — down the road as trade talks stalled. How important is TPP to [&hellip;]

His dominant political position buttressed by gains for his United Russia party in regional and local elections held in September 2013, and a raised international profile for Russia after successfully hosting the Winter Olympic Games earlier this year, President Vladimir Putin has stepped up repression of dissent at home while adopting a disconcertingly aggressive posture [&hellip;]

The summer driving season is still weeks away, but rising U.S. gas prices are already back in the news. Recently, the average price for regular gasoline at U.S. gas stations hit $3.6918 a gallon — the highest since March 22, 2013 and up 43 cents this year. Much of this price depends on global supply [&hellip;]

I am a die-hard advocate for supporting U.S. exports, so it concerns me that exports have been taken hostage during the ongoing Congressional infighting. Exports are vital, considering that more than 38 million American jobs depend on trade. One in three manufacturing jobs depends on exports, and one in three acres on American farms is [&hellip;]

SPECIAL REPORT—The political upheaval that erupted after President Viktor Yanukovych opted against signing an association agreement with the EU in November 2013 escalated sharply in February, and the situation is spiraling out of control, with serious negative implications for Ukraine’s already poor risk profile. Yanukovych has fled the country, taking refuge in Russia, while Moscow [&hellip;]

Did Harry Reid kill the trade agenda? The Senate Majority Leader is no champion of economic freedom to be sure, but his opposition to the fast track bill (trade promotion authority) doesn’t kill it. It merely strengthens the hand of his colleagues who might support a more protectionist version of the legislation. It’s an invitation...

In the space of just 13 months, President Enrique Peña Nieto has accomplished more in terms of economic reform than his two immediate predecessors managed in 12 years. Although the so-called Pact for Mexico — the broad alliance of the president’s PRI, the conservative PAN, and the center-left PRD — is effectively a dead letter, [&hellip;]

In most wars a victor is declared. Yet, there is one war that has raged for more than half a century and there is no winner: the war on poverty. It started under the Lyndon Johnson administration with the best intentions. Now 50 years and $20 trillion later, poverty in this nation has actually grown [&hellip;]

Legislation recently introduced in Congress to restore “fast track” trade promotion authority is considered necessary to complete and ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement between the United States and 11 other Pacific-bordering nations, as well as other trade agreements. But this vehicle, which conveys congressional negotiating objectives to the president in exchange of a timely, up-or-down...

The turmoil that erupted in Juba last month threatens to ignite a full scale ethnic civil war. If peace talks fail, a potential genocide may even result. Certainly, political risks for foreign investors and neighboring governments would increase under such circumstances. Given South Sudan’s position as a regional oil producing country, a civil war would [&hellip;]