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There is perhaps no better way to recap 2010 than to look back at the year′s headlines.

The Top Headlines of 2010

By: The Globalist | Monday, December 27, 2010

From the economic recession to the World Cup in South Africa — and from the fiasco of the Commonwealth Games in India to the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to a Chinese dissident — we present some of the year's most significant economic, political and societal developments.

There is, of course, the question of whether states should hold secrets, which is at the root of the WikiLeaks issue. Assange claims that by revealing these secrets WikiLeaks is doing a service. His ultimate maxim, as he has said on several occasions, is that if money and resources are being spent on keeping something secret, then the reasons must be insidious.

Taking Stock of WikiLeaks

By: Stratfor - Strategic Forecasting | Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Julian Assange has declared that geopolitics will be separated into pre-“Cablegate” and post-“Cablegate” eras. That was a bold claim. However, given the intense interest that the leaks produced, it is a claim that ought to be carefully considered.

At previous G20 summits, leaders have haggled over whether to include a line in the closing statement singling out China for keeping its currency undervalued, but once again this did not happen.

Outcome of the Seoul G20 summit

By: Reuters | Friday, November 12, 2010

World leaders said they would work to tackle global economic "tensions and vulnerabilities" that have raised fears of currency wars and trade protectionism as they wrapped up a Group of 20 summit in Seoul. Following is a summary of what was decided

The Republicans strike back

By: The Economist | Wednesday, November 3, 2010

"TONIGHT," exulted Rand Paul, the Republican candidate for the Senate from Kentucky, "there's a tea-party tidal wave." And so, in almost all respects, it was: the Republicans, fired up by the enthusiasm of tea-party activists, look set to pick up some 60 seats in the House of Representatives.

Africa does not need to be rescued and never will be. But we do need the international community to live up to its commitments and honour its promises, whether that be on corruption and stolen assets, on aid, trade or conflict resolution and peacekeeping.

Africa doesn’t need rescuing, just a square deal

By: EBR | Thursday, October 21, 2010

Nobody disputes the charge that Africa’s political leaders are often responsible for the continent’s troubles, says business tycoon Mo Ibrahim. But he argues that Western governments and corporations could do much more to redress the unfair practices that hinder Africa’s economic development.

Against this background, Goldman Sachs is forecasting a marked slow down in quarter-on-quarter growth in Asia excluding Japan and China.

What to do about the West?

By: Reuters | Tuesday, September 14, 2010

As sure as night follows day, a flurry of warnings that the global recovery is faltering is reviving the great debate whether Asia's economy can decouple from the West's.

Taiwan hopes ECFA will smooth the path towards signing free trade agreements with other countries in an effort to ensure that its export-oriented economy is not marginalised.

ECFA: Equal consultation and mutual benefits

By: N. Peter Kramer | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The end of June mainland China and Taiwan signed a tariff-cutting trade agreement, the so-called Economic-Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) that aims to deepen economic ties and ease tensions between the two countries. The deal is a high point in the ‘cross strait’ policy of President Ma.

European purchasing managers′ indexes in the past week showed private sector business activity accelerating in July, surprising economists who had expected a slowdown.

Sweet Europe, sour America?

By: Reuters | Monday, July 26, 2010

Investors are finding themselves with a new kind of balancing act -- one in which they have to juggle with three major regions posing three significantly different circumstances. Europe's bank stress testing, the focus of much of the past week's market focus, is but one ball in the air.

The old model of a bank-dominated financial system that paid depositors a pittance and funneled cheap loans to exporters and manufacturers is past its sell-by date. People would need to save less if they got higher returns on the money they do save.

IMF challenges Asia to change its economic habits

By: Reuters | Tuesday, July 20, 2010

That warm glow and soft purring emanating from South Korea was the International Monetary Fund trying, yet again, to put the Asian financial crisis behind it. The IMF needs Asia on its side. The region will wield more clout at global institutions like the IMF and provide more of their funding.

From a financial view point, it′s unclear whether UfM governments will be willing and able to match EU funding levels to networks up until now. Some south-eastern Mediterranean governments think that the networks should be funded by the Commission and regulated by governments, a proposal which both the Commission and the networks are unlikely to accept.

New as it is, the Mediterranean Union needs an overhaul

By: Europe′s World | Wednesday, July 7, 2010

The painful transition from the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership to the new Union for the Mediterranean isn’t over. Roberto Aliboni outlines the direction it should go and warns the EU to take more of a back seat and let Arab governments decide the UfM’s future.

The Germans have been developing economic relations with Russia since before the Soviet collapse, but the Greek crisis forced them to reconsider their relationship with Russia. If the European Union was becoming a trap in which Germany was going to consistently subsidize the rest of Europe, and a self-contained economy is impossible, then another strategy would be needed.

Germany and Russia Move Closer

By: Stratfor - Strategic Forecasting | Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The Germans do not want to lose the European concept. At the same time, they are trying to redefine it more to their advantage. From the German point of view, bringing Russia into the relationship would help achieve this.

Should governments fail to reassert the integrity of public stewardship, suspicions will emerge that, for all the talk of new beginnings, the perps and new regime are cut from common cloth

The World teeters on the brink of a new age of Rage

By: The Financial Times | Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Far be it for me to make a dicey situation dicier but you can't smell the sulphur in the air right now and not think we might be on the threshold of an age of rage. Historians will tell you there is often a time-lag between the onset of economic disaster and the accumulation of social fury.

Many of the Chinese and Indian firms active on the sub-Saharan continent are relatively sophisticated businesses and often part of larger international group structures already integrated into global value chains.

How China and India Really Operate in Africa

By: The Globalist | Monday, June 14, 2010

Africa seems to be the new hub for foreign investment for the developing economies of China and India. Both countries are investing heavily in businesses in sub-Saharan Africa and are changing the structure of the trade system there.

Obama, who made Mideast diplomacy a major priority, had succeeded in reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations through U.S.-mediated indirect talks. But there has been little or no progress and prospects look even more bleak after the flotilla incident.

Crises rain on Obama

By: Reuters | Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The diplomatic crisis over Israel's raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla added to the pressures facing President Barack Obama, who is already grappling with a catastrophic oil spill and high unemployment at home.

So anytime you doubt that we can work our way through the still-thorny problems of the Balkans — we are not out of the woods yet — anytime you doubt, you think, oh, this Northern Irish thing, it was a special moment in history. It probably can’t be replicated.

Bill Clinton: The End of Politics as a Zero-Sum Game

By: The Globalist | Monday, May 31, 2010

Could it be that one small African country provides the most powerful example for how to end the destructive practice of conducting politics as a game that must end with a winner and a loser? Bill Clinton holds out the example of post-conflict Rwanda as an epic story of hope for a better world.

The political forces which threaten the Koreas are completely different from those that are shaking confidence in the euro zone. But there is one unfortunate similarity. Until a few months ago, the governments, which had responded so powerfully to the financial crisis, were a comfort to markets.

Korea embargo adds to market’s political fear

By: Reuters | Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Investors rarely like wars or rumors of war. But for global markets, the renewed military tension on the Korean peninsula comes at a particularly sensitive time. The threat to this big economy — S. Korea’s GDP is 4 times larger than Greece’s — adds to the impression of a world out of control.

Today, the sources of global growth are shifting from the advanced economies to the large emerging economies — for all practical purposes, from the West to the East.

The Rest and the West

By: The Globalist | Thursday, May 13, 2010

Since the 1980s, the role of the advanced economies as drivers of global growth has been eroding. While Europe battles the Greek bond crisis and the United States struggles to pass banking regulations, developing economies in Asia and elsewhere are robust and growing.

Britain, the U.S. government, the EU and the rest of the world can only benefit from a less automatic pattern of support of Washington’s policies by London.

Nick Clegg: Springtime for Britain?

By: The Globalist | Friday, April 30, 2010

The rise of Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats is a refreshing sign on the part of the British electorate that it wants to broaden its political choices beyond Labour and the Conservatives, the country’s two tired old parties.

Hillary Clinton was not among the record 31 women on this year's list. The chosen, grouped into leaders, thinkers, artists and heroes, also include a record 47 international figures from 23 countries.

TIME: Top 100 influential people

By: Reuters | Friday, April 30, 2010

When it comes to influence, President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton and pop star Lady Gaga have it, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton does not, according to the Time magazine list. The list is based on staff suggestions and editorial decisions by senior Time magazine editors.

US President Barack Obama won in one week two battles in his war against nuclear weapons.

Obama’s war against nuclear weapons: a new START and a 47-nations anti-nuclear pact

By: N. Peter Kramer | Sunday, April 18, 2010

In Prague (Czech Republic) on April 8, US President Obama and Russian President Medvedev signed a sweeping new nuclear arms reduction pact that pledges to reduce the stockpile of deployed, strategic nuclear weapons in both countries.

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EU Actually

President Ursula von der Leyen has seen better days

By: N. Peter Kramer

EU leaders, member states, MEPs, EP political groups have had it with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Europe

The EU Needs a Third Way in Iran

European reactions to the war in Iran have lost sight of wider political dynamics. The EU must position itself for the next phase of the crisis without giving up on its principles.

Business

The EU’s zig-zag road towards stronger financial markets

Giles Merritt delves into the confusing welter of efforts to streamline Europe’s national financial players into a more dynamic single capital market