The Global Economy Is Threatened by the War in Iran

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Into the American and Israeli war with Iran, the economic, political, and military costs of the conflict for the region and global economy are already significant, and mounting every day.  Iran’s swift and broad retaliation against American military bases in the region, its waves of drone and missile attacks against the Gulf Arab states targeting hotels, airports, and energy infrastructure, and its de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz are a cumulatively costly nightmare for the Gulf.

The cost this war will exact from the Gulf will ultimately depend on how long it lasts. If intense fighting ends within three to four weeks, the shock may prove temporary. A longer war, however, risks leaving deeper scars – disrupting energy flows, unsettling investors, and gradually eroding the Gulf’s reputation for security and stability.

Read the entire article:  How the War on Iran Threatens the Global Economy (Time Magazine).

Everyone Needs to Go At Ventilator Speed

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A Time Magazine article says that every company is a tech company now.  The disruption is just beginning.  For example, "March 2020, as businesses across the world sent non-essential workers home to slow the spread of the coronavirus, a 2.6 million-sq.-ft. General Motors plant in Kokomo, Ind., sat idle. At the same time, ventilators—the breathing machines essential to keeping critically ill COVID-19 patients alive—were in frighteningly short supply. And so within a week of pausing the plant’s operations, GM CEO Mary Barra launched it back into action, quickly transforming a dormant engineering building into an assembly line that delivered 30,000 ventilators in five months."

Barra says that approach, incubated in the crisis of the pandemic, is now a permanent cultural shift that has already led to faster timetables for GM’s bet-the-company push to sell only electric vehicles by 2035. “Now as we approach different projects, we say, ‘You know, we’ve got to go at ventilator speed because we know we have the capability to do that,’” Barra says.

Read the entire article here.  We are in the midst of a reset.

The Mother of all Mixups: The Global Oscars 2017

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In case you missed the global Oscar ceremony 2017, here's BBC's take on it and Time magazine's.

• Oscars error shouldn't overshadow a groundbreaking victory
• Oscars 2017 recap:  Surprise Mistake, Moonlight, La La Land
• Watch the best picture mixup on video

"Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty presented "La La Land" as the winner of the best picture award, and the celebration began on stage but was quickly ended when one of the "La La Land" winners pointed out that in fact "Moonlight" had won the award." Source: CNN

Changing the World One Idea At a Time

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As the article below highlights, the global economy is being remade before our eyes. Here's what's on the horizon.

10 Ideas Changing the World 

Right Now

Here's one:  Rent-A-Country

The Collapse of the Doha Round of Trade Talks

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There was something unseemly about the way Europe and the U.S. blamed each other for the collapse of global trade talks. Like two bullies standing amid the wreckage of their brawl, they looked a little ridiculous, especially when their squabbling turned so quickly to who was responsible for the breakdown. Almost five years after the launch of the World Trade Organization's Doha round, which set out to boost the developing world's share of global trade, poor countries don't really care which rich country is to blame for the breakdown.

What do they care about? Read the article here to find out for yourself.

Note:  Since the date of this post, the article noted has been moved or taken off the site. We apologize for the inconvenience.  As a courtesy, we have added Quotes of the Day on the same topic and by the same source back in 2006.