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Yves here. I must confess to not having read Mackinder and even for those who have, Alfred McCoy’s analysis based on Mackinder’s “World Island” theory. A quick search did not turn up what I would very much like to have seen: an overlay of Mackinder’s “pivot area” with a map of modern Russia, as in what exactly lies out of Russia’s confines. I hate to invoke Wikipedia, but it does list an important critique of Mackinder: Mackinder only considered land and sea powers. In modern day time there are possibilities of attacking a rival without the need for a direct…

I found many interesting points in the Recenty Times story about cocoa beans, the main ingredient in chocolate. Susannah Savage, Chocolate Cartels: The Rise of Cocoa Smuggling, August 2, 2025. The first set of facts relates to the “deal” in which Ghana and the ivory coast were created with EYS Cocoa farmers. Two-thirds of the global supply of cocoa beans comes from both countries. The official contract was to protect farmers from price fluctuations in global markets. Real Deal Probablay aims to enable states to establish a monopoly on domestic cocoa production. It aims to pay farmers less than the…

What teachers should pay attention to when using AI AI can be found everywhere, from how to search for answers online, to how to shop, write, and even drive. And now it’s in the classroom as well. However, AI is here to help them work better, not replace teachers. After all, this is not the only technology that has changed education. In recent years, educational technologies such as smart boards, online quizzes, and digital books have become extremely popular. Today, the latest addition is AI, helping teachers in a variety of ways, including planning lessons, creating personalized learning experiences, grading,…

Half Point Images | Moment | Getty ImagesAccording to car analysts, consumers are racing to buy electric vehicles before a quick succession deadline.From September 30th onwards, Republicans defended on Capitol Hill, eliminating the tax credit signed by President Donald Trump in July.The Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act originally provided tax cuts to consumers until 2032.”We expect it to be in the third quarter [a] “We’ve been working hard to get the most out of our business,” said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, senior analyst at Cox Automotive.”People are in a hurry,” she said.”A significant amount” for EV salesAccording to Cox Automotive Data, consumers…

Stop measuring activity and start proof of impact You are participating in a Leadership Review Meeting. The slide is up. The KPI is flying. Finance, OPS and sales each show significant numbers movements. Then it’s the L&D turn. “We had a 92% completion rate on our onboarding courses this quarter.” Pause. A polite nod. The room will then move. This is a familiar moment for many L&D teams and is a very frustrating team. You know the job was good. You know people are engaged. But you know too: you are not speaking the same language as the rest of…

Goldman Sachs has long been considered the king of Wall Street dealmaking. Now, the bank is increasing its focus on another target: managing money for wealthy clients and institutions. Investment banking services, like underwriting initial public offerings (IPO) and advising mergers and acquisitions (M & A), have long been Goldman’s bread and butter. In fact, the firm was ranked No. 1 in overall global M & A activity for the first seven months of 2025, capturing 32% of market share among its financial peers, according to LSEG data. Most recently, Goldman has had its hand in a number of high-profile…

With all the discussions on free trade, tariffs and non-tariff barriers, I decided to skim quickly into a short and fun book by trade economist Jagdish Bagwati. It is his 1988 book and is entitled Simply Protectionism. I wrote a short review of the book in the Fortune issue on June 5th, 1989. One of the issues is what we currently see as “dumping” by American companies. This is an important paragraph in my review. American companies often claim that foreign competition is unfairly subsidized by the government, petitioning the US government to impose offsetting obligations and anti-dumping measures on…

How to build a sales training course Your sales team has not reached the performance level you want. Or you might think they’re fine, but you think they can do better. Therefore, of course, you will try to improve your skills by investing in sales training courses. Now the right program will help you achieve the improved sales performance you want. However, investing in the wrong course will result in the opposite results. To avoid this mistake, below is how to build an effective sales training course. Learn how to create resources that your team can really rely on. 5…

The Revolut card can be seen in this illustrated photo taken in Krakow, Poland on March 29, 2024. Jakub Porzycki | nuphoto | Getty ImagesLONDON – Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey told CNBC he has not “stopped” with the UK government over the long-awaited delay in banking licenses for FinTech Giant Revolut.Last week, the Financial Times reported that a meeting was cancelled, resolving that the UK’s Rachel Reeves and Revolut and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) had the BOE’s arm overseeing the bank – was cancelled after an intervention from Bailey.Recognizing Revolut as a fully authorized bank has become…

A recent post by co-blogger Pierre Lemieux, “Can the Constitution Restrict the State?” (July 21, 2025) raised an important question, and one political theorist has been working on it for thousands of years. The comments section of that post linked to a recent paper in the Institute Economics Journal by Jacek Lewkowicz, Jan Falkowski, Zimin Lou, and Olga Marut (“Beware of Constitutional and Constitutional Compliance language”, Journal of Institutional Economics, 20:e35). Flavority (i.e. avoiding very complicated and technical jargon) makes it more clear whether government officials are violating the Constitution, which can increase the pressure on him from voters. A…