Author: James Martin
Placeholder while article actions loadAlgeria has long been a medium-stakes player in the global game of oil and gas exports, but the energy crisis in Europe has created an opening for the North African nation to up the ante. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi flew to Algiers just a few weeks ago to ink an agreement to boost natural gas imports from Algeria by 40 percent through an underused pipeline that runs beneath the Mediterranean Sea.Other oil and gas exporters that were not previously front and center in the global energy conversation, such as Angola, Nigeria and the Republic of…
Placeholder while article actions loadThere is one way a married couple is supposed to handle money: jointly. Well, that’s how it used to be — after all, women needed a male co-signer to access credit until 1974.Today’s married couples have more options when it comes to how to manage their money.The classic of being completely joint remains. It’s streamlined, it’s simple, it’s what you might’ve grown up with. The second option is some level of separation. This has sometimes been advised in secret: Mothers would warn daughters to squirrel some money away in case they needed to escape a bad marriage.These…
Placeholder while article actions loadAt the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the most powerful condemnation of Vladimir Putin’s adventurism came from an African. In a speech that went viral worldwide, Martin Kimani, Kenya’s ambassador to the United Nations, invoked Africa’s traumatic colonial experience to condemn the Russian leader’s imperial revanchism. “[African states] rejected irredentism and expansionism on any basis, including racial, ethnic, religious or cultural factors,” he said. “We reject it again today.”Since then, however, African criticism of Russia has been muted, especially in the UN, where the continent’s 54 votes can swing resolutions. Barely more than half of…
Placeholder while article actions loadA barrage of divisive economic signals, combined with plummeting technology stocks, led financial markets to close April at lows last seen when the pandemic began in March 2020.Uncertainty about the trajectory of the economy played a role in market turmoil on Friday, as the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed down 4.2 percent for the day and the Dow Jones industrial average lost 939.18 points, or 2.8 percent. The S&P 500 tanked 3.6 percent on Friday, erasing 9.1 percent of value in April, its worst month since March 2020. And it’s down 13.8 percent in 2022, the worst start…
Placeholder while article actions loadTwo fourth-graders in Edmond, Okla., went to the hospital after eating what looked like commercial gummy candies. In Cooper City, Fla., nine children were hospitalized after snarfing what seemed almost identical to a common brand of sour candy. And in Roy, Utah, five children consumed a candy called Nerds Rope, leaving two of them hospitalized. The package looked just like the popular candy made by Nestlé — but the product contained 400 milligrams of THC, the chemical in marijuana that makes people high. The candy with about 40 times the normal dose used by regular pot…
Placeholder while article actions loadPARIS — Surging energy prices are posing a growing problem for Europeans economies, as new figures showed on Friday that inflation in the euro zone increased to 7.5 percent this month, the highest level on record, while economic growth weakened to 0.2 percent.Inflation was a key concern in Europe even before the war in Ukraine, as its economies struggled to weather supply chain disruptions and the impact of coronavirus restrictions. Recent European sanctions against Russia and rising tensions over fossil fuel imports have further amplified the concerns by sending energy prices spiraling upward.“Higher energy prices are…
Millions of new dog owners want workplaces that include their furry friends. But not everyone is a fan.Today at 8:00 a.m. EDT|Updated today at 12:22 p.m. EDTToday at 8:00 a.m. EDT|Updated today at 12:22 p.m. EDT(The Washington Post illustration; iStock)No one loves the ping-pong table at Rhombus Systems’ Sacramento office as much as Wallace.One ear is always listening for the “tap tap” sound of the ball bouncing back and forth. The sound prompts him to race to where the table is located, burst through the door and enthusiastically run along the side of the ping-pong table as the game is…
Placeholder while article actions loadAfter months of tumult born of widespread misconduct allegations, worker walkouts and a $68.7 billion purchase by Microsoft, Blizzard is finally back to its bread and butter: releasing games. Well, sort of. Earlier this week, the game developer rolled out the beta test for “Overwatch 2,” the long-awaited sequel to its popular team-based shooter, with millions of prospective players tuning in on Twitch to get a first look. But despite early signs of success, it’s not yet obvious that Blizzard has a hit on its hands.“Overwatch 2” isn’t officially out yet, but players can try its…
Placeholder while article actions loadSome of the same people who once considered Merrick Garland a martyr to Republican villainy now consider him a disappointment, or worse, as attorney general. What they want him to do, most of all: Indict former president Donald Trump. Garland should keep disappointing them.University of Michigan law professor Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney, has made the most thorough case for indictments. Trump pressured Vice President Mike Pence to block congressional certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential race. Trump engaged in this pressure campaign even though many people — including federal judges, state officials…
Placeholder while article actions loadWhen Joanna Garzilli was in Venice, Calif., for a holiday party in 2017, the bikini-clad dancers were on stilts, the drinks were flowing and the conversation was about one thing: cryptocurrency. It seemed so sexy, she remembered thinking. Lured by the glamorous crowd, she later invested and struck it big: an $85,000 profit from a crypto coin called GRT, bringing on dreams of life at the Ritz-Carlton Residences.But soon, her trades became reckless, she said. Garzilli staked 90 percent of her life savings into a coin that lost her tens of thousands in days. She made…