Aswan, Egypt was busier than usual in February, when the Aga Khan IV, spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims, was buried there in the family mausoleum. Prince Karim Al-Hussaini Aga Khan died at the age of 88 on February 4. His final resting place, a distinctive pink-granite structure overlooking the Nile, […]
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With Ceasefire Agreement, Traffic Starts to Rebound on Suez Canal
Commercial shipping between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean begins to see more normal patterns, as once-looming Houthi rebels suspend their unconventional, if not deadly, toll practices at Bab al-Mandab. The head of the Suez Canal Authority affirms that as many as 50 vessels adjusted their itineraries to pass through the […]
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American Consumers Brace for Tough Road Ahead
The humble egg becomes a beacon for the US economy. Of course, egg shortages can be explained by looking at the impact of the avian flu. Purchase restrictions at some grocery stores, though, trigger memories of pandemic frustrations, helping to undermine consumer confidence. Egg surcharges at Waffle House and Denny’s […]
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White House Turbo-Charges Gold Market
Mark Bristow, the CEO of Barrick Gold, may know a thing or two about political volatility. While the mining company is based in Toronto, he is South African by heritage. “Very clearly the market is telling you there is only one reserve currency in this world, and that is the […]
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Congress Wants the Army to Collect More Open-Source Intelligence
Capitol Hill has an idea to save money. This year’s National Defense Authorization Act—which designates the Pentagon’s budget and expenditure—suggests that the Army may want to assign a program executive office to gather open-source intelligence. The assumption verges on the audacious. Is Congress suggesting that publicly-available material may be better […]
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Netflix Goes Shopping
With almost $10 billion in cash on hand and a voracious appetite for content, Netflix is positioned to inject fresh life into proven genres and rescue flailing productions. The streamer may not have as much gargantuan spending power as Amazon or Apple, but its business interests are singularly focused on […]
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What Will Carlos Slim Do?
No one has more at stake in a degraded Mexican economy than Carlos Slim Helú. The 85-year-old deal maker has earned much of his wealth in the domestic telecommunications industry, while expanding aggressively into consumer goods and infrastructure. His businesses, typically owned through his conglomerate Grupo Carso, touches almost every […]
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Saudi Arabia Puts Cash on the Table for America
Riyadh wasted little time in setting the tone for bilateral ties with the United States. Just days after the inauguration, Crown Prince Mohammed spoke with President Trump, promising $600 billion in investment over the next four years. The figure is roughly in line with the gross domestic product of Sweden […]
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This City Becomes the Pentagon’s Sandbox
El Segundo, California is trend forward in the innovation business. The near-LAX city is an unlikely spigot for the next generation of American startups. Venture capitalists find fresh opportunity there in military-related projects, channeling patriotism. Silicon Valley once considered investing in defense to be taboo. A confluence of circumstances has […]
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Tokyo and Seoul Clash Over Abandoned Gold Mines
Sado Island offers nostalgia for many Japanese. It is the site where workers for the Tokugawa Shogunate achieved almost perfect purity in its gold production through handicraft methods. In the 1600s, the mines were responsible for as much as ten percent of global gold output. Based on that partial history, […]
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