Category: Geopolitics

Cybersecurity, Geopolitics

Update from Sifted on Ukraine impacts

Colin Henderson

Sifted reports on start ups in Ukraine and Eastern Europe three years on and the threat and startup environment. —- —- Three years of war in Europe Good morning Colin, Today marks the third anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, and while the US and Russia remain focused on finding solutions that suit them, the conflict looks set to continue a while longer. A year on from war breaking out, Sifted spoke to several startups and operators who either tried to keep their companies running or shifted from coding to producing military equipment. Three years on, Sifted once again interviewed Ukrainian founders to … Continue reading Update from Sifted on Ukraine impacts

Economy, EU, Geopolitics

Germany’s Economy Was Once the Envy of Europe. Not Anymore

Colin Henderson

This from NY Times confirms we are collectively in a state of chaos in terms of ‘world order’. In this blog one of my primary focus is on business and banking risk. Canada is a classic forerunner to what we see in Germany in today’s election. There was a time where my primary focus was bad actors and criminal elements including bad actor governments. The notion of risk has moved inward and banks must take care of their own risk management and deploy their own mitigation factors. That means isolating and understanding risks to their bank and taking arbitrary actions … Continue reading Germany’s Economy Was Once the Envy of Europe. Not Anymore

Geopolitics

Rubiks Cube of Global Security – Davos 2025

Colin Henderson

Foreign Affairs at World Economic Forum 2025 Rubiks Cube of Global Security – Davos 2025 The global security landscape has deteriorated sharply in the past decade, with nearly 15% of the world’s population now living in conflict-affected areas. As these conflicts combine with climate and technological risks, as well as the re-emergence of threats of nuclear proliferation, what can leaders do to stem the breakdown of longstanding security norms and institutions and bolster long-term comprehensive collective security? Speakers: This session was developed as a collaboration between the World Economic Forum and Foreign Affairs. Continue reading Rubiks Cube of Global Security – Davos 2025

Climate, Economics, Geopolitics

Bloomberg highlights 2024

Colin Henderson

In a world where authoritarianism and war are on the march, the fatalists have retreated, shrugging their shoulders in the knowledge that the climate crisis will probably moot everything else. And 2024 was certainly their year. The past 12 months have seen a steady drumbeat of unsuccessful climate negotiations where nations couldn’t put long-term survival ahead of short-term benefit. Talks to halt plastic pollution, protect biodiversity and end desertification all failed. A deal at the COP29 summit left developing nations furious with the amount of money agreed upon to help them battle global warming—and the accord even avoided mentioning the need to move away from fossil fuels. Meanwhile, humanity is burning … Continue reading Bloomberg highlights 2024

Geopolitics

Has Democracy a Future?

Colin Henderson

By Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. September/October 1997Published on September 1, 1997 Solidarity founding leader Lech Walesa during his presidential campaign in Plock, Poland, May 1989Leszek Wdowinski / Reuters Source Foreign Affairs 1997 THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY The twentieth century has no doubt been, as Isaiah Berlin has said, “the most terrible century in Western history.” But this terrible century has—or appears to be having—a happy ending. As in melodramas of old, the maiden democracy, bound by villains to the railroad track, is rescued in the nick of time from the onrushing train. As the century draws to a close, both major villains have perished, … Continue reading Has Democracy a Future?

AI, Geopolitics, Middle East

Iraqi Banks Used U.S.-Created System to Funnel Funds to Iran

Colin Henderson

New York Fed’s process to move Baghdad’s oil earnings lacked key money-laundering safeguards, resulting in illicit transfers that financed terrorist groups for years David S. CloudSept. 8, 2024 at 9:00 pm ET His three Baghdad banks wired tens of billions of dollars in that time outside the country, ostensibly for car parts, furniture and other imports. He was one of the biggest operators in an ad hoc banking system set up around two decades ago under the U.S. occupation that gave the Federal Reserve Bank of New York a key role in processing Iraq’s international transactions.  Years later, when the … Continue reading Iraqi Banks Used U.S.-Created System to Funnel Funds to Iran

Geopolitics

Spy Chiefs of the C.I.A. and MI6 Convene, on a Couch and for a Crowd

Colin Henderson

Appearing together publicly for the first time in the history of their agencies, the heads of the U.S. and British intelligence services discussed Ukraine’s incursion into Russia and the war in Gaza. Listen to this article · 4:49 min Learn more By Mark Landler Reporting from London Sept. 7, 2024Updated 4:54 p.m. ET The chiefs of the C.I.A. and the British Secret Intelligence Service, appearing together publicly for the first time in the history of their agencies, said on Saturday in London that Ukraine’s surprise offensive in the Kursk region had exposed vulnerabilities in Russia’s military and was an “audacious” effort to “try and … Continue reading Spy Chiefs of the C.I.A. and MI6 Convene, on a Couch and for a Crowd

Geopolitics, US

Is It the 1930s All Over Again?

Colin Henderson

A historian sees parallels between the world today and the economic uncertainties and rise of authoritarian rule in the pre-World War II era August 26, 2024 The past decade and a half has seen upheaval across the globe. The 2008 financial crisis and its fallout, the COVID-19 pandemic, and major regional conflicts in Sudan, the Middle East, Ukraine, and elsewhere have left residual uncertainty. Added to this is a tense, growing rivalry between the U.S. and its perceived opponents, particularly China. In response to these jarring times, commentators have often reached for the easy analogy of the post-1945 era to … Continue reading Is It the 1930s All Over Again?

Geopolitics

How US military planning has shifted away from fighting terrorism to readying for tensions and conflict with China and Russia

Colin Henderson

 Eric RosenbachPublished: August 26, 2024 1.31pm BST President Joe Biden’s recent approval of a major shift in U.S. nuclear weapons strategyhighlights the attention the country’s national security officials are paying to Chinese ambitions for influence in the world. As changes emerge in the types of threats facing the U.S., the American military adjusts its strategic focus, budgets and planning. For instance, after 9/11, the U.S. military refocused away from its Cold War emphasis on preparing for combat against a powerful nation – the Soviet Union – and toward fighting small terrorist and insurgent groups instead. Over the past decade, the Pentagon’s efforts have … Continue reading How US military planning has shifted away from fighting terrorism to readying for tensions and conflict with China and Russia

Economy, Geopolitics

Children of Men

Colin Henderson

August 21, 2024 at 2:17 AM EDT By John Authers John Authers is a senior editor for markets and Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A former chief markets commentator at the Financial Times, he is author of “The Fearful Rise of Markets.” Save To get John Authers’ newsletter delivered directly to your inbox, sign up here. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-08-21/baby-bust-pricing-in-the-decline-in-fertility-gains-urgency?srnd=opinion Fertility is a painful and emotive topic. Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance’s criticisms of “childless cat ladies” have landed him in political hot water; some 30 years ago, the British novelist P.D. James penned a terrifying novel, later followed by a film, The Children of Men, imagining a society 25 years after the last … Continue reading Children of Men