Financial markets have been sending an interesting message about President Trump and Russia. After Trump’s election, investors seemed to be betting that sanctions against Moscow would soon be eased. But this confidence collapsed in late January, and Russian stocks plummeted.The numbers tell the story: From Nov. 7, the day before the election, to Jan. 27, the MICEX index of leading Russian stocks rose 26 percent. The index for Russian financial stocks increased 19 percent over that same period. B

Feb. 23, 2017

Europe’s promise to lower greenhouse gas emissions looked bright a dozen years ago, when its leaders created the first big market for trading carbon permits. Sadly, though, its system has failed to encourage investment in clean technology and appreciably lower carbon dioxide emissions. Until the European Union trims the number of permits traded enough to drastically raise the cost of emitting carbon dioxide, its market will remain dysfunctional.　The idea behind the Emissions Trading System was s

Feb. 23, 2017

In barely a month, US President Donald Trump has managed to spread chaos and uncertainty -- and a degree of fear that would make any terrorist proud -- at a dizzying pace. Not surprisingly, citizens and leaders in business, civil society, and government are struggling to respond appropriately and effectively.Any view regarding the way forward is necessarily provisional, as Trump has not yet proposed detailed legislation, and the US Congress and courts have not fully responded to his barrage of e

Feb. 22, 2017

With populists emulating autocrats from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe, free markets are being forced to confront crony capitalism.　One response is visible in the reversal of fortunes of Malaysia and Indonesia. The two nations still wrestle with the politics of ethnicity and religion at odds with the capitalism of market competition. In Indonesia, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Chinese Christian who is the governor of Jakarta, is running for office while defending himself against charges of blasphemy against

Feb. 22, 2017

The White House disarray we’ve witnessed of late can’t be good for the US’ national security. Having a president kept out of the intelligence loop can only invite disaster.　Having fired Michael Flynn as his national security adviser for a lack of trust born of bizarre dealings with Russians and subsequent lies, Donald Trump quickly reversed thrust and portrayed Flynn as a victim of the agencies we rely on to keep track of our enemies and often our friends. The spies, he said, took down the good

Feb. 22, 2017

How should the press respond to President Donald Trump’s claim that “the fake news media” are “the enemy of the American people?”By doing its job. And doing it well.Trump’s comments have pushed the discussion about the importance of the press in our democracy into overdrive. They have also fueled an already simmering fire over what should happen to the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, an annual event designed as a celebration of a free, independent press but often criticized for c

Feb. 22, 2017

Across Asia, the world has supposedly been witnessing the return of the strongman.Chinese President Xi Jinping has been grasping more and more control since claiming power in 2012. Two years later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India and President Joko Widodo (known as “Jokowi”) in Indonesia won office by selling themselves as forceful economic and political reformers. All three were heralded as the firm hands these giant developing nations needed to rejuvenate their promising but troubled eco

Feb. 21, 2017

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s manifesto, penned clearly in response to accusations leveled at the social network in the wake of the bitter US election campaign, is a scary, dystopian document. It shows that Facebook -- launched, in Zuckerberg’s own words five years ago, to “extend people’s capacity to build and maintain relationships” -- is turning into something of an extraterritorial state run by a small, unelected government that relies extensively on privately held algorithms for social

Feb. 21, 2017

Childhood deaths have been falling worldwide since 1990. In their foundation’s annual letter last week, Bill and Melinda Gates estimated that science had saved 122 million children in the last quarter-century.That’s a population larger than three Californias. What saved them? Vaccines, mostly.The percentage of children receiving basic immunization is now at a historic high, internationally speaking. It’s “incredible progress,” the Gates Foundation report said, a triumph of foreign aid, charitabl

Feb. 21, 2017

NATO is a 28-nation alliance built on the premise that an attack on one member is an attack on every member. That’s a healthy dose of reassurance in a world where terrorism and Russia pose menacing threats. Yet 23 of those countries don’t pay their fair share for that NATO protection.　The US bears most of the burden for propping up NATO, a longstanding disparity previous administrations, including Barack Obama’s, have groused about but never tackled. Until last week, when the Trump team gave its

Feb. 21, 2017

By one measure, President Donald Trump’s immigration policy is one-third as harsh as his predecessor’s -- but it has generated at least as much if not more controversy. This is unfortunate, both because this particular controversy is unjustified and because it distracts from bigger problems.Federal agents made 680 arrests in a series of immigration raids last week, sparking shock and alarm among immigrant communities that mass deportations are in the offing. Yet that number was one-third of the

Feb. 20, 2017

US President Donald Trump’s administration has shocked the mainstream press by bullying news outlets and unabashedly trafficking in “alternative facts” (also known as lies). But Trump’s challenge to the media status quo may not be an entirely bad thing: journalists now have an opportunity to root out the bad habits associated with cozying up to those in power.Trump’s chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, drew gasps recently when he told the New York Times that the news media represent “the oppositio

Feb. 20, 2017

The chasm between Russia and the West appears to be wider now than at any point since the Cold War. But, despite stark differences, there are areas of existential common interest. As we did during the darkest days of the Cold War, Americans, Europeans, and Russians must work together to avoid catastrophe, including by preventing terrorist attacks and reducing the risks of a military -- or even nuclear -- conflict in Europe.Ever since the historic events of 1989-1991 changed Europe forever, each

Feb. 20, 2017