There is a quiet crisis occurring in the global economy. Deutsche Bank is one of the world’s most important banks in the world, but over the last few months its stock price has been declining because investors are concerned that the bank does not have sufficient capital to cover its obligations. Over the weekend, German Chancellor Merkel announced that no German government money could be used to bail out the bank. Today, Deutsche Bank’s stock price essentially tanked. The sharp decline is reminiscent of the decline in the stock price of Lehman Brothers (a major US investment bank) prior to its dissolution in 2008 and the onset of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. We should keep our eyes on the stock prices of banks in Germany (and Italy).
We have discussed the rise of right-wing politics in many places in the world, but no where is the rise more apparent than in Europe. Insecurity has increased dramatically among most populations in Europe and are associated with the economic turmoil of the Great Recession and the perceived threats from terrorists and immigrants. The Guardian is a reliably left-wing newspaper in Great Britain and it has published an editorial on the threat of populist politics in France.
Avoiding climate change is the most urgent security issue facing humanity, but we seem to be unwilling to take the issue seriously. Many countries have announced specific initiatives to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, but as of now those measures seem inadequate. Moreover, it has grown increasingly clear that very few countries have a clear idea of their contributions to the problem. It also seems clear that we have seriously underestimated the role of gases like methane to the crisis facing the species.
World Politics News 
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