For four years, the U.S. has firmly rejected joining the producers’ club to curb output. It can’t remain aloof any longer
Energy diplomats are on overdrive, seeking to bring an end to the senseless global crude oil war. Russia and Saudi Arabia have flooded the market, driving down oil prices. A G20 virtual meeting of energy leaders is being urged, with International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol reportedly propelling the idea. Former U.S. Energy Information…
The economy will bounce back, even if some businesses don’t. But don’t expect a rapid recovery after COVID-19 recedes
What will happen to the economy once we get through this pandemic? We’re coping day to day with social isolation and, for those of us lucky enough to still have work, the challenges of working from home or being out there in an infected world. First, we want to know when all this will end.…
In the wake of COVID-19, we need to reconfigure our economy and society so they are less vulnerable to external shocks
American historian Frank Snowden pulls no punches. He says the “coronavirus is emphatically a disease of globalization.” And the most severe blows strike at cities that are “densely populated and linked by rapid air travel, by movements of tourists, of refugees, all kinds of businesspeople, all kinds of interlocking networks.” In this respect, the virus…
Firms can hardly thrive without compensating employees well, maintaining good relations with suppliers and being environmentally friendly
By Paz Gomez Research Associate Frontier Centre for Public Policy The Trojan horse of social engineers has crossed the gates. At the latest World Economic Forum in Switzerland, the Davos Manifesto 2020 replaced the original from 1973. The new one lays down a company’s duties towards “stakeholders” rather than shareholders. This virtue signalling, which gives…
With demand and supply shock acting simultaneously, crude markets are imploding. And this is just the tip of the iceberg
The global oil war is on and no one seems to be blinking. Saudi Arabia is set to increase its crude oil exports in May by about 600,000 barrels per day (bpd), bringing its total petroleum exports to 10.6 million bpd, an official at the Saudi Arabian Energy Ministry told the Saudi Press Agency. Russia…
There are many positive environmental outcomes as the result of a dramatically slower economy
The media is filled daily with dire stories about COVID-19. Is there anything good coming out of this pandemic? Beyond the sadness and unease, some benefits will positively impact our lives and the health of the environment. The most obvious environmental benefit is that travel has diminished significantly across the globe. Tens of thousands of…
We have surrendered far too much control of the economy to the Chinese, from sports equipment to broader supply chains
We’ve apparently reached halftime in the media’s battle against COVID-19, and the savants are doing highlight packs of the big plays and terrible mistakes made so far. It’s not a pretty picture. It would be nice if we could use the sports system of replays to go back and correct a few things from a…
We need to fundamentally change how capitalism works, in part by recognizing intangible assets like human and natural capital
The COVID-19 crisis is less than a month old and as necessary steps are taken to mitigate the pandemic, another larger and much more dangerous crisis is looming. Should the medical shutdown extend into the early summer, what might the economic consequences be? The answer is a lot of short-term pain with a distant possibility…
Tax relief is instantaneous. Money is simply left in the hands of those who need it. There’s no application to be processed
As Canadians stay home to keep their communities safe in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, millions of people are out of work and countless businesses have closed their doors. It’s an unprecedented situation. Never before have governments deliberately put their economies into a coma in order to fight a health pandemic. And with the…
Coupled with the coronavirus, the oil battle is hurting economies all over the world, including Canada and particularly Alberta
The world is in a mess and so are the crude oil dynamics. Coronavirus pandemonium is reshaping the global crude oil fundamentals and demand destruction continues. The transportation sector, responsible for almost 70 per cent of the total global crude oil consumption, is in the doldrums. Staying indoors is the new mantra and road transport…
The global economy is being hammered. The good news is consumers may see cheaper food prices but there’s a big, dark cloud on the horizon
Most analysts agree that the oil price war is only beginning. Abundant cheap oil will impact the entire agri-food market, from farm gate to plate. And the coronavirus pandemic is compounding what’s already a fragile global economy. The pandemic and the oil price war caused a massive sell-off in equity and crude oil markets this…
Cuts in staff are often followed by a reduction in service, followed by a loss of more customers. It's a losing cycle
In 1988, I approached successful land developer Louis Matte to see if he would be interested in investing in a medical supply business. He told me he wanted to start a religious book store, but we could combine them and he would invest if there was an opportunity to add a business that was recession…
Its downfall as Latin America’s freest economy will be next if socialist activists have their way and rewrite the constitution
By Paz Gómez Research associate Frontier Centre for Public Policy When Hong Kong pro-democracy protests stalled a U..S-China deal last year, they showed how sensitive trade is to domestic political unrest. Few observers noticed, however, that Chilean demonstrations forced the cancellation of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Communist Party…
Why should we believe a man who showed disdain for Brexit and who incorporates his wife's political agenda into his work as a leading global economist?
Depending on the part of the world you’re in, the mention of economist Mark Carney can elicit different responses. In Canada, Carney is widely credited with steering the country through the rocky waters of the 2008 financial crisis. But in the United Kingdom, he’s often labelled a political activist disguised as an economist. Carney served…
The notion that leading the G7 is evidence of strong economic performance or rapid growth in living standards is not simply off base, it’s dangerous
By Ben Eisen and Finn Poschmann The Fraser Institute Recent forecasts suggest Canada may compete with the United States for the top spot in the G7 in 2020 for economic growth. Those forecasts include one from the International Monetary Fund. Political partisans have since flooded social media with the impressive-sounding factoid that Canada may lead…
Energy diplomats are on overdrive, seeking to bring an end to the senseless global crude oil war. Russia and Saudi Arabia have flooded the market, driving down oil prices. A G20 virtual meeting of energy leaders is being urged, with International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol reportedly propelling the idea. Former U.S. Energy Information…
