Thinking global, acting local

As you go about your daily life, heading to work, to the shops, to your leisure activities, walking the dog, some parts of the world may seem very remote to you.  In fact, regardless of where you live, somewhere in the world is, literally, on the other side of the planet to you.  At the same time, we all share the same planet and so events which take place literally on the other side of the world can still have an impact on our lives.  With this in mind and following Trump's visit, here’s a quick round up of what’s going on in the UK and elsewhere.

The UK Brexit continues to dominate the headlines, with issues relating to Northern Ireland frequently being mentioned.  It’s probably a safe bet that Brexit will continue to be major news both economically and socially, at least up until the terms of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU are agreed and quite possibly long after, while its impact is felt.

Europe Brexit will have an impact on Europe too and there are other signs of interesting times on the continent.  Germany recently struggled to form a government and it remains to be seen how effective that government will be over the longer term.  At the present moment, Italy is still trying to form a government even though its last general election was two months ago.  France has been hit by strikes, which could potentially be seriously detrimental to the country’s economy if they continue into peak tourist season.  Spain is still dealing with a restive Catalonia and the EU is openly at loggerheads with some of its Eastern members, particularly Hungary.  It would be harsh to say that all is doom and gloom on the continent but it would arguably be very fair to say that life and economics on the continent of Europe is far from being a bed of roses.

The Americas Starting from the North, Canada has finally managed to agree a trade deal with the EU, which may (or may not) be seen as a blueprint for a future deal with the UK. November 2018 sees the U.S. midterm elections in which all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate will be up for the taking.  Expect a hard-fought battle as both sides vie for control of Congress. Mexico, Central America and South America all continue on their various paths, some showing more economic strength than others.  Mexico and Brazil both have elections later this year, which could significantly influence the region’s economic path. Asia Asia is home to three of the world’s largest countries, the Russian Federation (a fair part of which is in Asia), India and China, along with Japan, which is still an economic force and up-and-coming economies such as South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines.  Several Asian countries are due to have elections in 2018 and more in 2019 so it will be interesting to see how events develop there.  On the plus side, there have been encouraging signs between North and South Korea. The Middle East and Africa Geographically speaking, this is a huge region with a very diverse range of economies in very different states of development.  At present time, there is a great deal of interest in Saudi Arabia, which is working hard to reduce its dependence on oil revenues by developing alternatives, such as tourism.  It has initiated three major new projects, Qiddiya, Neom and the Red Sea in an attempt to stimulate and broaden its economy.  Having said that, it is very much an open question as to whether it will be able to match the tourist appeal of the nearby UAE.