Markets, Economy, Businesses

Marine Le Pen leads the Rassemblement National, a French far-right party, and she leads the polls for next spring's Presidential election in France. Last Sunday on 60 MINUTES - the CBS news show - she said France is "the least racist" country in the world, suffering no discrimination. This topic is personal to me. So I wondered if there is a rigorous way to establish a ranking of countries by level of "racism" or "discrimination". As always, let's get the data. First, there i

Let's take a closer look at facts and data. What happened in China (Chart 1): China's AI and chip index lost 40%, about $480B, in four months. In January, Zhipu and MiniMax became the first AI labs in the world to go public. Small investors asked for 1,800 times the MiniMax shares on offer. By May, Zhipu traded at 17 times its IPO price. Then it all reversed. On 22 Oct, MiniMax was worth less than at its IPO, 88% below its peak, Zhipu 77%. Why? 1. China's economy: The governm

Several LinkedIn charts this month rank "best and worst education systems" using the new PISA 2025 results. Most are sloppy at best. One plots Russia, which did not take the test. Another puts "China" on top, when the OECD tested four wealthy regions, not the country. Some use a cost-of-living axis that says nothing about education. So, to get the facts right, I checked the data, in accordance with one of my leadership principles - "Substance: accurate facts and critical thin

Ben Page shared a chart this week linking stagnant UK incomes to the pressure on "neoliberalism". I took up the challenge and looked at twelve rich countries. The US and the UK are both usually labelled "neoliberal". Yet between 2007 and 2024, real disposable income per person rose 31% in the US and 10% in the UK. Here is the full comparison (OECD, Chart 1): - US +31% - Sweden +26%, Denmark +25%, Canada +24% - Australia +18%, Germany +17% - France +13%, Netherlands +13%, UK +

Inflation, high interest rates, mounting debt, unsustainable deficits etc... all this is intensifying public anxiety. In almost every country I know, economic problems and disagreements over how to solve them exacerbate divisions. The solution we so often hear these days? Let's make the "rich" pay, of course! But it's not that simple, starting with... Who are they, these "rich"? What does "rich" even mean? So, let's take a look at the data. All figures annual, in dollars. 1.

Over 30 years of leading companies through change, I have learned that a strategy, project or initiative needs a clear definition of success: what should improve, by how much, by when and at what cost. Without it, supporters point to the number that improves, detractors to the one that doesn't, and the debate never ends. Today, I was reading a New York Times article on US tariffs and thought it was a great illustration. In April 2025, on "Liberation Day", the White House set

"The US has even more debt than we do relative to GDP, and they are doing fine so we are fine too." You hear this in the UK, Spain, Belgium and even more so in France. But does this argument make sense? Well... no!! Let's compare France to the US, for example. Look at the charts below. On the debt/GDP number itself, sure, counting all levels of government, French public debt reached 116% of GDP in 2025, and US debt 124%. It has increased more or less at the same pace for at l

When mortgage rates rise sharply, homes become hard to afford even if home prices stop rising. For example in the U.S., the monthly payment has risen 77% relative to income between 2020 and 2025. Like many of you, I worry about the cost of buying a home, for ourselves, for our children or for someone we love. So today's Wall Street Journal op-ed celebrating the rise of mortgage rates, "Hurray for Higher Mortgage Rates", caught my attention. It basically argues that higher rat