Pinchas Landau writes about Israeli and Global economics, finance and politics
December 18, 2015
The Federal Reserve Bank has finally taken the plunge and raised US short-term interest rates — after seven years of zero-interest rate policy (ZIRP). However, despite Fed claims to the contrary, businesses in the US are not in good shape — and the global economy is being dragged down by a weakening China. No wonder the market’s response was underwhelming, while analysts were openly critical.
December 11, 2015
The political Establishment, including its supposedly opposing parties, is under siege across the developed world. Whether it’s Marine le Pen in France or Donald Trump in America, the rise of ‘extremist’ politicians and parties demonstrates the degree of disillusionment and the growing demand for radical change.
December 4, 2015
The pension systems of developed countries are being undermined by demographic imbalances and increasingly onerous regulation and the zero-interest-rate environment of recent years has created additional massive distortions. Israeli pensions are also threatened — and savers should make the effort to find out how to protect themselves.
November 27, 2015
In the wake of the November 13 terror attacks, the French government and people want to strike at ISIS directly. But it is Vladimir Putin’s Russia which now calls the shots in the mess that was Syria and France, America and even Turkey will have to adjust to that reality.
November 13, 2015
The actions and attitudes of growing numbers of students at American colleges — exemplified by the uproar at Yale over Haloween costumes — is almost incomprehensible to older people, for whom universities were intellectual battlegrounds, not the ‘safe spaces’ that today’s kids demand.
November 6, 2015
Many rich Israelis are looking to invest in real-estate overseas, primarily in the US. A conference in Tel Aviv last week offered insights and guidance in how to go about doing this in a sensible way — and some of the speakers even acknowledged the risks involved and tried to show how to minimize them.