For Trump how much is enough?
Economists have long tried to tackle the question of how much is enough without reaching any conclusive answer. This, of course, is no different from many other questions confronting our ...
Articles
Undermining independent institutions in the US and Cyprus
Donald Trump has continued his aggressive tactics well into the second week in January. After the military coup in Venezuela and the unrelenting push to take over Greenland, he has ...
US policy now a manifestation of might is right
The new year is barely with us and already we have started with a bang, literally. The events from Venezuela have made front page news everywhere. Even here in Cyprus ...
World trade war is alive and kicking
On December 16, two contrasting articles appeared in the Financial Times that spoke volumes about the very different approaches to world trade currently at play. One was written by Peter Navarro, ...
Character matters for the survival of democracy
The above headline was the subtitle of my column of December 1, 2024. In it, I argued that Donald Trump was unfit for the role of President of the United States. Events ...
Trump’s new Monroe Doctrine
A lot has happened in the past month I have been away, and I was struck by how, on at least three fronts, issues I have previously explored in this ...
It’s time to see beyond the spreadsheets, Mr Keravnos
The Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) – the electricity link connecting Cyprus, Greece and eventually Israel – is reaching another critical milestone. Sadly, Cyprus risks repeating a familiar pattern where strategic national projects ...
The Nobel peace prize? Maybe next year, Don
If you are anything like me, the name of the person who won this year’s Nobel peace prize will not come automatically in your head. And no, it is ...
A sanction proof way to retain control over the Russian frozen funds
Let me begin by offering my apologies for today’s somewhat technical column. However, recently there has been increasing urgency in European circles about the need to utilise the Russian ...
Creeping towards a Gaza peace deal
At last, there is a glimmer of hope of reaching an end to the killing in Gaza. Following the UN General Assembly last week there has been an incredible amount ...
How the West lost America
For some time, I have been trying to understand how the West managed to lose its key champion: the United States. By “the West,” I mean the group of countries ...
‘Succession’ in play at the Federal Reserve
If you have been a fan of the hugely popular TV series Succession, then the Board machinations at the Federal Reserve will blow your mind. Control over the Board of ...
Two kinds of war?
Cyprus was bracing for a non-traditional type of war this week. A confrontation between employers and workers over the demand by Unions for restoring the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (CoLA or ATA ...
Say goodbye to an independent US central bank
Like the end of the beach holidays in August, all good things must come to an end. So too my short-term optimism with Donald Trump’s policies working towards achieving ...
Erratic Trump could yet provide peace in Ukraine
Over the past 10 days we have witnessed intense activity over the Russian-Ukrainian war, with an array of emotions engulfing the interested parties as well as the general public at large.
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From golf greens to government statistics: cheating is now endemic
A few weeks ago, President Donald Trump visited Scotland in a semi-private capacity to inaugurate a new golf course owned by his family business. In a widely circulated video, one ...
Tariffs as a tool of geoeconomics
Just over 100 days since “Liberation Day” – the moment President Trump unveiled his new international trade rules – a seismic shift is underway in the global economic order.
On August 7, the latest ...
How the world has fared this past week: Gaza, the Fed and The Late Show
At long last, some Western leaders have found the political will to try to put a stop to the killing in Gaza. President Emmanuel Macron became the first G7 leader ...
Football can show us the way – sometimes
A friend commented on my last week’s article as being too morbid. Writing a weekly column on domestic and world current affairs these days is certainly no picnic. Wars, ...
Trump’s tariff war is just foreplay
With demolishing the independence of the Federal Reserve in his sights, Trump’s almost complete dominance of the governance of the United States will be complete
Trump’s campaign against ...
Our judicial system is cracking under the weight of its own incompetence
Our judicial system cannot help keeping itself out of adverse publicity as, following last week’s Supreme Judicial Council decision not to confirm Doria Varoshiotou as a judge, we had ...
Our institutions are being eroded, at home and abroad
I have often written in these pages about the importance of independent institutions as a way to promote good governance in a country and the key role they have played ...
The war that should never have happened
The world has long tried to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, and rightly so.
US President Donald Trump never ceases to proclaim that had he been president in 2022, the ...
The unbearable predictability of Donald Trump
During the past two weeks US President Donald Trump exhibited everything one would expect of him. Unfortunately, expecting things to happen cannot prepare you for the feelings of utter dismay ...