The Korea Herald

[Chloe Morin] What’s left for France’s Socialists? They can’t say.

In September, the French Socialist Party took a practical decision freighted with symbolism: It put the party headquarters up for sale. Situated on Rue de Solferino, some hundred meters from the National Assembly and the iconic Musee d’Orsay, the imposing building had been acquired by the party in 1980, one year before Francois Mitterrand became the first Socialist president of the French Republic.　The decision, a sign of the party’s deep troubles after a crushing election, has been hotly debate

Viewpoints Nov. 29, 2017

[Ayalon, Sher, and Petruschka] Trump’s ‘ultimate’ Middle East peace plan

According to recent reports, President Donald Trump is going to unveil a Middle East peace plan early next year. Last month’s unannounced visit to Saudi Arabia by three top White House aides -- Jared Kushner, Jason Greenblatt and Dina Powell -- to discuss this plan, along with Vice President Mike Pence’s announcement that he will visit Jerusalem, Ramallah and Cairo next month, give the reports credence.As Israelis who have served at the forefront of our country’s security, diplomatic and economi

Viewpoints Nov. 28, 2017

[Noah Smith] Immigrants do a great job at becoming Americans

Immigration has lots of economic benefits and few economic costs. Immigrants pay for native-born Americans’ retirement, start companies and make the US a desirable destination for investment, while not taking away jobs or depressing wages of the native-born. But people care about more than dollars and cents -- culture is important. Immigration skeptics -- including a few on the political left -- often fret that immigrants won’t adapt to American culture. But they shouldn’t worry. The great Ameri

Viewpoints Nov. 27, 2017

[Noah Smith] Immigrants do a great job at becoming Americans

[Stephen L. Carter] Too many laws. So much ignorance. Something has to give.

Seventy-five years ago, in the summer of 1942, four friends decided to while away the afternoon playing bridge in a Baltimore city park. Instead of enjoying their game, they found themselves under arrest. The city had an ordinance that forbade the use in a public park of any device that might be used for gambling -- such as a deck of cards. They didn’t know about the rule, of course. But under a longstanding tradition of our jurisprudence, ignorance of the law is no excuse.　Maybe it shouldn’t be

Viewpoints Nov. 27, 2017

[Therese Raphael] Score one for the experts as Brexit costs grow

In the run-up to the UK’s 2016 referendum on leaving the European Union, and immediately after it, the “remain” campaign was much derided for fearmongering. People are sick and tired of experts warning about doomsday scenarios, said Conservative politician and lead Brexiter Michael Gove. Those warning that Brexit would cost the economy were dubbed “remoaners”; Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond was compared to Eeyore for his caution.　It was, granted, a disastrous campaign strategy: Focus

Viewpoints Nov. 27, 2017

[Therese Raphael] Score one for the experts as Brexit costs grow

[Mac Margolis] Brazil is on track to get its own Trump

These days, you need steady nerves to join the Brazilian political conversation. Ask Judith Butler, the University of California, Berkeley, comparative literature professor known for her provocative ideas about gender. Two weeks ago, she was hectored by street protesters in Sao Paulo, burned in effigy, and chased by contrarians all the way to the airport.　Butler wasn’t the only target. In recent weeks, sois-disant protectors of public morals attacked a museum and a cultural center in two cities

Viewpoints Nov. 26, 2017

[Leonid Bershidsky] Putin’s patriotic frenzy is turning on him

A Russian high school student expresses sympathy for a German soldier who died in a Soviet prisoner camp after World War II. A wave of condemnation rises on Russian social networks and spills over into parliament. At first glance, nothing to be excited about: Russia is the troll capital of the world. But it also looks an awful lot like a sobering harbinger of what Russia may be like after President Vladimir Putin.On Sunday, a high school student from the Siberian city of Novy Urengoy made a conc

Viewpoints Nov. 24, 2017

[Leonid Bershidsky] Putin’s patriotic frenzy is turning on him

[Christopher Balding] China’s top economic risk? Education.

Chinese President Xi Jinping recently laid out a bold vision for transforming his country into a fully developed economy by 2050, with a particular emphasis on spurring innovation and technology. Given China’s current level of human capital -- and some looming changes in the world economy -- that may be harder than he expects.A widely held view in the West is that China’s schools are brimming with math and science whizzes, just the kind of students that companies of the future will need. But thi

Viewpoints Nov. 22, 2017

[Noah Smith] Robot revolution is coming. Just be patient.

Amid all the fear of robots taking human jobs, skeptical voices have been asking: Where are these robots? Machine-learning systems -- commonly marketed as artificial intelligence, but really closer to fancy statistical algorithms -- are beating humans at games, improving search algorithms and transforming industry in countless small ways. But so far, the machine-learning boom hasn’t done anything to reverse the slump in productivity growth.Now, it’s possible that productivity gains are just bein

Viewpoints Nov. 20, 2017

[Noah Smith] Robot revolution is coming. Just be patient.

[Adam Minter] China gives flying cars real boost

For nearly two decades, Shanghai’s spindly skyline has inspired comparisons to the dystopian Los Angeles of Ridley Scott’s futurist-noir film “Blade Runner.” There’s wild architecture, giant video billboards and horizon-obscuring smog. The only things missing are the flying cars zipping between buildings.　That may soon change. This week, China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group acquired Terrafugia, a Boston-based company that plans to start selling flying cars by 2019. It’s the most prominent Chines

Viewpoints Nov. 20, 2017

Goldman sees four 2018 Fed rate hikes as US growth gains

The US economy is heading into 2018 with strong momentum that’s likely to boost wages and inflation more broadly, requiring the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates four times next year, Goldman Sachs Group economists said in a research note.The New York-based investment banking and securities firm raised its growth outlook for 2018 to 2.5 percent and lowered its forecast for unemployment to 3.7 percent by the end of 2018, said Goldman chief economist Jan Hatzius, a co-author of the note, whi

World Business Nov. 19, 2017

Goldman sees four 2018 Fed rate hikes as US growth gains

[Leonid Bershidsky] Zimbabwe’s coup is nothing to celebrate

As leader of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe has survived longer than Stalin in the Soviet Union and Mao in China. If it’s coming to an end -- which seems likely given his apparent inability to emerge from house arrest after the military took charge -- it’s worth reflecting on the mistakes he made to end such a remarkable run.　Daniel Treisman, a UCLA political scientist, argued in a recent paper that most dictators fall for reasons proving that they are all too human: hubris, a propensity for needless r

Viewpoints Nov. 19, 2017

[Leonid Bershidsky] Zimbabwe’s coup is nothing to celebrate

[Hal Brands] Trump lost sight of his promising Asia vision

When it comes to foreign policy, the Donald Trump administration’s basic approach often appears to be “one step forward, two steps back.” No sooner does the president unveil a seemingly promising initiative than he fatally undercuts it through his own proclivities and erraticism.　True to form, Trump’s recent trip to Asia provided a glimmer of hope that his administration might be adopting a coherent strategy toward the region. Too bad the trip also showed that the administration’s approach remai

Viewpoints Nov. 19, 2017

[Hal Brands] Trump lost sight of his promising Asia vision

[Megan McArdle] Outsiders can’t transform a bureaucracy

Almost two months after his first secretary of health and human services stepped down, Donald Trump has finally nominated a replacement: Alex Azar, the former president of Eli Lilly’s operations.　Azar’s name is not widely known outside Washington, or even particularly well known here inside the Beltway. He’s an interesting choice, not just because of his background as a pharmaceutical executive, but also because of what his nomination suggests the administration has learned over the past year.　W

Viewpoints Nov. 16, 2017

[Megan McArdle] Outsiders can’t transform a bureaucracy

[Leonid Bershidsky] Russia’s economy is growing with borrowed money

Without any new ideas from a technocratic government constrained by President Vladimir Putin’s apparent indifference, the Russian economy is once again relying on consumers, who are borrowing more to buy real estate and imported products. The growth is real, but it’s also meager. And it will be hard to sustain without bigger changes. On Monday, Rosstat, Russia’s official statistics agency, announced that the country’s gross domestic product increased 1.8 percent year-over-year in the quarter tha

Viewpoints Nov. 16, 2017

Articles by Bloomberg