A high-powered group of international experts is warning a “no-holds-barred” race for Arctic resources could shape up unless countries around the world move faster to reach agreements on development, safety and environmental standards.
A new report by 40 experts from six different countries spells out four scenarios for the future of the top of the world [...]

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Without much oil under its sands, Dubai is no petro powerhouse. But you can’t beat it for being the most colorful sheikdom in the Middle East–or the most ambitious. What other desert land can claim one of the world’s largest indoor ski slopes, featuring fresh powder year round? While flying in on the stylish, state-owned [...]

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The Israeli government no longer believes that sanctions can prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons. A broad consensus in favor of a military strike against Tehran’s nuclear facilities — without the Americans, if necessary — is beginning to take shape.
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If there was a the unipolar moment it has passed. The US will most likely remain the pre-eminent global power for some time yet, but it is already an insufficient one. The multilateral system designed in the middle of the last century no longer fits geopolitical realities. New powers might be accommodated in a reformed [...]

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That would be consistent with a recently published report by Merrill Lynch Chief Economist David Rosenberg suggesting a 100% probability of a recession. Reading from his latest writing:
“We recently unveiled a new recession probability indicator that uses the shape of the yield curve (10-year note/3-month LIBOR) and corporate spreads (Baa) to predict the probability of [...]

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