WASHINGTON: Helmut Kohl, the long-serving former German chancellor who died June 16th at age 87, was honored Saturday with the European Union’s first ever state funeral in Strasburg. Chancellor Merkel, Kohl’s one time protégé, French president Emmanuel Macron, and former President Bill Clinton were among those paying tribute. Kohl will rightly be remembered for masterfully orchestrating German reunification. He will also be remembered as the … Continue reading Helmut Kohl and the Euro

I was at Oxford for only four-weeks but the experience honed analytical and speaking skills that I employ decades later. It was a summer course in the late 1960s comprised of 80 students from universities in America and Europe. It was organized by the university’s Institute of Education and the program continues to this day. We were housed at St. Anne’s College. Our course was … Continue reading What I Learned From Oxford Tutorials

In this biznews.com piece on January 30, leading South African academic Jonathan Jansen laments the “destruction” of the University of Cape Town. On January 11th in Palo Alto Barry discussed Chinese-US relations with Hoover Institute historian Niall Ferguson. See  video. On January 12th Barry was at the Tesla factory in Fremont, CA. See tweet video. As Trump comes in and TPP dead, trade is at … Continue reading Recent publication roundup

WASHINGTON: Gresham’s Law from 16th century England says bad money drives out good. Sir Thomas Gresham, money manager for Queen Elizabeth I, argued that if two coins with the same nominal value simultaneously circulate the one with the most gold will be hoarded while the less valuable coin is used. Who would have guessed that in our time this medieval axiom would be tested—of all … Continue reading Zimbabwe: How Bad Money Drives Out Good