[Christopher Balding] Alibaba in America? Don’t bet on it

Alibaba Group Holding, already the largest Chinese company by market capitalization, is nothing if not ambitious. Its chief financial officer, Maggie Wu, recently told investors she expects revenue to increase by up to 49 percent next year, a staggering prospect. But perhaps more staggering is how Alibaba hopes to get there: In part, by tapping the US market.By any measure, Alibaba dominates online retail in China. Through its subsidiary TMall, it commands more than twice the market share of its

June 21, 2017

[John M. Crisp] Attack on congressmen calls for context

Not much is gained by observing through a political prism last week’s attack on US congressmen practicing for their annual Republicans versus Democrats charity baseball game.Certainly the attacker, James Hodgkinson, supported progressive causes and was a volunteer for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential campaign. And as he approached the practice field he reportedly inquired about the political affiliations of the ballplayers. Told they were Republicans, he opened fire with a high-powered as

June 21, 2017

[Clive Crook] What the British election means for Brexit

The UK’s Brexit ordeal looked complicated and unpredictable even before the election. Now things are worse. Theresa May is weakened by her narrow victory -- the closest thing to a humiliating defeat a technical win could be. From now on, she’s even less in command of the process. One more slip and she might be out of a job. Another election is possible, to be followed by who knows what.So where does this leave Brexit? The popular line of analysis is that a weakened May will no longer be able to

June 20, 2017

[Komal Sri-Kumar] Euro’s outlook brightens as Germany fills void

President Donald Trump’s recent decisions have a left a void in the US’ global leadership. He decided to reduce the country’s global trade ties by withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, insisted that North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies pay their “rightful share” of 2 percent of gross domestic product for their defense, and announced that the US would exit the Paris climate accord.US leadership and global integration -- through closer trade, currency and policy-making ties -- have

June 20, 2017

[Satyajit Das] Asking the wrong questions on energy

To adapt Thomas Pynchon, if the wrong question is asked, the answer doesn’t matter. Today, the world seems to be consciously framing its energy problems in a way that avoids the right questions, and thus true solutions.Human advancement is intrinsically linked to the development of motorized power driven by fossil fuels. Unfortunately, the resource itself is finite and has serious byproducts, notably carbon dioxide, which may pose an existential threat by worsening climate change. A logical resp

June 20, 2017

[Other view] Europe’s smart compromise on London clearing

The City of London has been anxiously awaiting the European Commission’s review of clearinghouses that handle euro-denominated transactions. It’s a nice line of business -- one the European Central Bank, even before Brexit, had wanted to bring more firmly under its supervision. The question was, would euro clearing have to migrate from London?The report is out and the answer is: not necessarily. The commission is wisely suggesting a compromise.Clearinghouses provide an essential service, guarant

June 20, 2017

[Eli Lake] US stands with Qatar’s foes, while selling F-15s to Qatar

You would be forgiven for thinking the US backs Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in their current standoff against Qatar. President Donald Trump himself has taken the Saudis’ line against their fellow Gulf monarchy, tweeting last week that Arab leaders all pointed to Qatar as a serial financier of terrorism. This was certainly the impression the Emirates’ ambassador to Washington, Yousef al-Otaiba, gave to journalists this week. When asked about his meetings at the Pentagon and the Stat

June 19, 2017

[Christine M. Flowers] Attack on Scalise was a hate crime

I just got finished writing a column about how the internet is vile and vicious and people have become poisonous vipers in the privacy of their basements. It was in direct reaction to the blowback I received this week to my Bill Cosby essay, which, as my editor noted “broke the internet.”I think she gives me too much credit, because I have it on good authority that the internet is like the child-proof seal on over-the-counter medicine and can never be broken, but I appreciate the shout-out.And t

June 19, 2017

[David Ignatius] When there’s a family quarrel in the Middle East, ‘let Rex handle it’

The sudden embargo on Qatar pushed this month by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia has peeved the State Department and Pentagon, drawing sharp criticism of those two close Gulf allies.The Qatar flap has also opened a fascinating window on the inner workings of the Trump administration’s foreign policy. It’s a rare instance in which Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the quiet man in the Trump team, appears to have convinced the president to back off his initial course and, as a White Hous

June 18, 2017

[Noah Smith] The robot takeover is greatly exaggerated

There’s lots of fretting these days that automation will displace huge numbers of workers. It makes sense to be worried. Although adoption of machines in the past didn’t make human labor obsolete, there’s no guarantee that future technology will work the same. Maybe this is an issue in the long-term, but for now, at least, automation probably isn’t taking away many jobs.To hear me confidently declare that may come as a surprise to some, given the steady flow of articles sounding the alarm about

June 18, 2017

[Bernard-Henri Levy] Emmanuel Macron and the post-revolutionary idea

No, Parisian voters are not “vomitatious,” as the pathetic Henri Guaino proclaimed Monday after losing his seat in the National Assembly. Staying home from the polls, which we have been told for 30 years benefits the National Front, cannot now be used to explain the surge of La Republique en Marche!, French President Emmanuel Macron’s new political party. And no, Macron is not beginning a dictatorial career at 39, any more than Charles de Gaulle did at 67.In short, pretty much nothing said about

June 18, 2017

[Other view] How Asia can take the lead on climate

Ever since the US announced its withdrawal from the Paris agreement, China and India have been hailed for firmly recommitting to the global emissions pact. The praise is fair: It’s good that two of the world’s three biggest greenhouse-gas emitters have renewed their promise to act. But if they really hope to lead on climate, they’ll have to be more ambitious.Both countries were climate laggards until recently, prone to blaming the West for rising concentrations of greenhouse gases. Now they’re g

June 18, 2017

Is US ready for another Russian hacking?

Let’s put aside for a moment the question of whether anyone connected to President Donald Trump colluded with Russia in its attempts to hack the 2016 election. Let’s not get into an argument about whether the effort changed any votes, not to speak of the outcome. Let’s not even worry about whether Vladimir Putin himself was involved. The fact is, the hacking was massive, sophisticated and far more widespread than previously thought. According to a new report from Bloomberg, hackers broke into th

June 16, 2017