As the world approaches the end of this annus horribilis, there is a sense of relief. Not just because 2020 will soon be history but also because the economic disaster could have been so much worse. Read more

As that great philosopher Homer Simpson once said, “Just because I don’t care doesn’t mean I don’t understand.” For climate policy debates, it is a bit different. Most people do care about cutting carbon emissions, but they still do not understand how it works. Read more

This morning, Newsroom published a story concerning a private and anonymous blog by one of our staff, Nathan Smith. Nathan joined us earlier this year from the National Business Review, where he had worked as a journalist for seven years. Read more

When the Covid-19 crisis first struck Italy earlier this year, this column warned it might set off a chain of events that would wreck the Mediterranean country’s economy. On 10 March (A catastrophe that will cripple Italy), I pointed out that Italy would experience an economic collapse as public debt soared past 150 percent of GDP. Read more

One of the shortest jokes about economics goes like this: Teach a parrot to say supply and demand, and you have created an economist. But there is an even better joke: Teach a parrot to say demand and demand, and you have created a politician. Read more

Dear Mike, In a country where people often hold back opinions for fear of offending others, your breakfast show is a refreshing exception. I am a fan of your clarity and boldness (though, sadly, we still haven’t met). Read more

Just a few hours into the vote count of the US Presidential election, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša sent out a congratulatory tweet – but to the wrong president-elect. “It’s pretty clear that American people have elected @realDonaldTrump @Mike_Pence for #4moreyears,” Janša wrote. Read more

In a year of bad news, the past few weeks were a welcome exception. Pfizer’s announcement of a potentially effective Covid-19 vaccine opens a path back to normal life. Read more

One of the first management books I ever read was Tom Peters’ A Passion for Excellence. I must have received it in the late 1980s from a family friend. Read more

There is something special about Adele, Madonna and Sia. Because these pop divas are only ever referred to by their first names. Read more

When Odysseus sailed the treacherous waters between the monsters Scylla and Charybdis, he just had to survive. Holding onto a fig tree, Odysseus eventually made it through. Read more