Author: Kurt L. Davis Jr.
France and the United States: “Fait l’un pour l’autre?”
France is “America’s oldest friend and Ally” with a relationship “built upon [..] shared commitment to the same values – democracy, human rights, the rule of law, security, and prosperity” according to the State Department. The debacle of last month regarding submarine sales by the U.S. to Australia and a subsequent voiding of a French contract with Australia raises questions about the French-American alliance. Yet an assessment of the other two options in Europe – the U.K. and Germany – suggests France and the U.S. are made for each other…
Could Tunisia Be Heading Down The Same Route As Lebanon?
The world is chaotic: Covid-19, economic uncertainty, and war. Amid the signs of chaos, it is said that the obvious signs of danger or opportunity can be missed. But no one is missing the power grab being made by Tunisia’s President Kaïs Saïed, following the recent dismissals of ministers, including Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, and Minister of Economy, Finance and Investment Support Ali Kooli, and the suspension of parliament. Saïed also recently announced plans to strip legislators of immunity and assume power of the state prosecutor’s office. But is this danger or opportunity? The most obvious comparison to this situation is Lebanon…but to what extent is Tunisia like Lebanon?
Tax Policy Is Never So Simple
The focus of tax policy should be to create the ‘necessary’ revenue mixed with a manageable level of debt to cover the requisite spending for the country. That tax revenue will involve a balance between capital, labor, and consumption taxes. Mix in the targeted investment incentives and managed spending (better said than done) and maybe you can find a solution…
Covid-19, Political Unrest, and Economic Challenges: Five Countries To Watch Closely in the Second Half of 2021
On a global scale, people are angry at the current health and economic environment with protests becoming increasingly prevalent. The question for political analysts and investors is whether the anger and unrest boils to an unsustainable level for some countries….
Five Things To Watch As The U.S. Economy Recovers
U.S. GDP has reached its pre-covid 19 level…should we be celebrating? The answer is yes. But the economy continues to provide mix signals to the market. And, as it continues to recover, there are five things to watch…
Ethiopia: How has Abiy Ahmed fared as a Prime Minister?
Congrats to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on his re-election (we all know who will win)…But how has Abiy Ahmed fared as Prime Minister? And what criteria do we use to grade him?
The English Summer…We Await
Prime Minister Boris Johnson delayed plans to lift the remaining covid-19 restrictions by a month last week with the infectious delta variant rapidly spreading throughout the country. Now, the full reopening of pubs and restaurants among other places will have to wait AGAIN. The British (and the rest of the world) are stuck speculating on whether and when London and the country will return to some sense of normalcy. Today, absent packed streets and offices both with locals and non-locals, the UK’s exit from the EU somehow feels like a permanent exit from the world’s ecosystem (at least for now)…
The Return of Lula, Brazil’s Economic Volatility, and Opportunistic Investment
Brazil is full of opportunities…if you ignore the populist rhetoric that will accompany the October 2022 elections.
The Summer Of The Vaccine
If governments cannot avoid stoking further worry and sidestep validating conspiracy theories while also showing empathy and concern for its citizens, then vaccine rollout, which clearly is an issue of both an individual’s perspective on the vaccine’s necessity and its safety, will remain in doubt and the economic fall-out will accordingly be palpable in some parts of Europe…
