U.S. military assistance is finally on its way to Ukraine after months of being held up in Congress. Reactions to the US$61 billion spending package, signed into law by President Joe Biden on April 24, 2024, have ranged from applause to indignation. While few people could deny it includes ammunition and equipment that Washington’s besieged […]
Ukraine’s economy went from Soviet chaos to oligarch domination to vital global trader of wheat and neon – and now Russian devastation
Ukraine’s economy continues to operate despite the battering the country is getting from the Russian military. Many factories and businesses still function. Other industries like those in information technology have barely missed a beat, with workers continuing to work from areas out of the direct line of fire. But Ukraine has been largely transformed into […]
War in Ukraine might give the Chinese yuan the boost it needs to become a major global currency — and be a serious contender against the US dollar
The Chinese economy’s sheer size and rapid growth are impressive. China maintained one of the highest economic growth rates in the world for more than a quarter of a century, helping lift over 800 million people out of poverty in just a few decades. The country is the largest exporter in the world and the […]
The Russian economy is headed for collapse
To justify invading Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has painted Russia as a hegemonic power re-asserting its rightful claim to imperial greatness. Yet even before the invasion, Russia’s economic capabilities were hardly capable of sustaining an empire. Now, with foreign sanctions presiding over a plummeting Russian ruble, Russia’s economic standing has fallen further still. If measured at […]