Economy
Hard Numbers: Swedish unrest, global economic slump, Libyan oil trouble, salty e-chopsticks
A Swedish cop stands near a burning bus after a far-fight rally in Malmo.
Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency/via REUTERS
40: Riots in ... Sweden? At least 40 people have been wounded after several days of rare political unrest in the Nordic country, where a far-right, anti-immigration group wants to burn copies of the Quran in cities with big Muslim populations during Ramadan.
3.6: The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday predicted the global economy will grow by only 3.6% this year, 0.8 percentage points less than it anticipated in January, mainly due to the war in Ukraine. The gloomy outlook comes amid rising fears that stagflation — stagnant GDP growth plus double-digit inflation — might hit many economies in 2022.
600,000: Libyan oil production has declined to 600,000 barrels per day, half of the country's capacity, due to the recent closure of several production facilities. There’s a political angle: many of the sites have been blocked by opponents of interim PM Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, whose term expired in late December but refuses to hand over power to his successor picked by parliament.
50: If you love salty food but worry about your sodium levels, you’re in luck: Japanese scientists have developed electronic chopsticks that enhance salty taste by 50%. But wait, there's more! They're also working on — we kid you not — a lickable TV screen that mimics food flavors.In his latest Quick Take, Ian Bremmer argues that the war between the United States and Iran has entered a more dangerous phase, with both sides demonstrating they can sustain military and economic pressure without forcing the other to back down. The question is, will this standoff bring them back to the table before the conflict escalates further?
Ukraine is bringing the war to Russia, challenging one of the conflict's biggest assumptions: that time is on Vladimir Putin's side. Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba joins Ian Bremmer to discuss whether the war is entering a new phase.
For years, Russia has counted on one advantage above all else: time. Ian Bremmer explains why Ukraine's expanding campaign inside Russia is challenging that assumption, and what it could mean for the future of the war.
The US president used a primetime address last night to argue America’s election system is broken and vulnerable to “rigging.” He pointed to documents he says show Chinese interference in the 2020 vote. But the evidence Trump offered, along with past assessments from the intelligence community, doesn’t support his broadest claims.