The Economic Sentiment Indicator declined by 1.5 points to 96.7 in the EU and dropped by 1.6 points to 96.6 in the euro area during March, official figures showed on Monday. The European Commission reported that the Employment Expectations Indicator also fell by 1.3 points to 97.3 in …

Raphael Dosson The Iranian conflict is falling, predictably, into the escalation trap—from what began as a vertically limited, regime-targeting air campaign to a horizontally expanding regional war, with the potential to become one of the most consequential geostrategic crises of the century, carrying far-reaching implications for the global …

Remote work is no longer the emergency patch it looked like in 2020. The latest Global Survey of Working Arrangements, which covered more than 16,000 college and university graduates across 40 countries in late 2024 and early 2025, found that average work-from-home time has settled at 1.27 days …

Paula Krugman For much of the past century and a half, oil markets have followed a familiar script. A geopolitical shock erupts, prices rise—often sharply—but the initial reaction tends to understate the depth and duration of the disruption. Only later, as physical constraints bite and expectations adjust, does …

Mohammed Ayoob President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iran arose from a severe misunderstanding of US interests in the Middle East. President Donald Trump had long been opposed to US military involvement in wars in the Middle East. He had excoriated previous administrations for their military involvement in …

Frank Vogl Just recently, a “bomb” exploded in downtown Frankfurt when it finally became apparent that the Hilton Hotel there is part of the overseas investment network of the Iranian regime. Booking.com has suspended the hotel from its reservation service on news that a major investor in the …

Dr. Shehab Al-Makahleh There are moments in history when the stage is stripped bare, when the actors—once draped in grandeur—are revealed as mere performers reciting borrowed lines. The current war orbiting Iran, the United States, and Israel is one such moment: a geopolitical drama that would make Niccolò Machiavelli nod …

Stephan Richter The U.S. Constitution has always been risky business for the U.S. political economy domestically insofar as it imposes 18th century values onto the 21st century.  These features include its de facto unamendability, the disproportional weight it assigns to rural populations, its implicit dislike of any elements …

Last week, the Pentagon disclosed that the US-led military manufacturing partnership (PIPIR) is assessing funding for a major new ammunition assembly and production line in the Philippines. Under its ultra-conservative PM Sanae Takaichi, Japan is taking the lead to set up a new program to produce propulsion systems …