POTUS: HOOVER SIGNED SMOOT HAWLEY JUNE 1930. @REALCONSTABLE @BATCHELORSHOW

By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Herbert E. French, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

#FRANCE: PLUM TREE RIPENS, @REALCONSTABLE, OCCITANIE @BATCHELORSHOW

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Andrew.berdov, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

WSJ: Financial Flashback: Tariff Trouble in the 1930s

 

Briefings Magazine: ‘Rich’ Countries Sinking into Debt

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Sometimes countries need to borrow money by the boatload. It happened during WWII, when democracies faced a near-existential crisis. In the following decades, debt sank, as it often does in the wake of such a crisis: In the United States, Canada, and Japan, plus Europe’s large economies, such as Germany, France, and Italy, the debt-to-GDP ratio fell to a modest 40 percent by 1968.

Fast-forward 50-plus years, and things sure have changed. “Global public debt is probably worse than it looks,” the International Monetary Fund’s blog recently declared. “It is expected to exceed $100 trillion” for 2024. That’s approximately 93 percent of global GDP, up from around 83 percent in 2019. Already Japan’s debt is an eye-watering 250 percent of its GDP. And the IMF believes government worldwide borrowing is likely to worsen. Read more here.

 

FRANCE: CYBERCRIME QUIZ. @REALCONSTABLE @BATCHELORSHOW

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

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WSJ: How Much Do You Know About Cyber Scams? Take the Journal’s Quiz.

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The cyber scammers are still stealing your money, and, in many cases, they seem to be getting better at their chosen field, according to recently released data from the FBI.

The 2024 Internet Crime Report is the latest edition of an annual report on cybercrime scams reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It combines information from 859,532 complaints of suspected internet crime and details reported losses exceeding $16 billion. 

How much do you know about the latest scams? Test yourself on our quiz here.

Max Plaisted, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

FRANCE: RECALLING TIANANMEN TRAGEDY YEAR 0NE, 1990. @REALCONSTABLE @BATCHELORSHOW

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Boxer Rebelión 1900

Kasai Torajirō, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

WSJ: How Much Do You Know About Cyber Scams? Take the Journal’s Quiz.

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The cyber scammers are still stealing your money, and, in many cases, they seem to be getting better at their chosen field, according to recently released data from the FBI.

The 2024 Internet Crime Report is the latest edition of an annual report on cybercrime scams reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It combines information from 859,532 complaints of suspected internet crime and details reported losses exceeding $16 billion. 

How much do you know about the latest scams? Test yourself on our quiz.

1 OF 8

1. By how much did financial losses to cybercrime rise in 2024 from 2023? 

2 OF 8

2. Which age group suffered the most losses from all types of cyber fraud?

Read more here for more questions and answers.

 

Poland’s soaring economy sets stage for tight presidential race as US, EU watch closely

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

Poland is going to vote in a presidential runoff Sunday. The country is one of the few economic success stories in Europe. 

Its economy is growing far faster than some of the larger economies. It grew 2.9% last year, eclipsing 2.8% growth in the U.S. And it slammed Europe’s three largest economies with minus 0.2% growth for Germany and plus 1.1% for both in France and the U.K. 

Poland's economy has grown 11 times larger since 1986, almost twice as fast as the U.S. did over the same period.

"The last year or two has seen a boom, and it's getting publicity," Mateusz Urban, a senior economist at Oxford Economics in Warsaw, Poland, told FOX Business earlier this year. "There really is a European tiger right at Germany’s door." Read more here.

Warsaw, Poland Syced, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons