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Patrick Bond

Patrick Bond is professor of political economy at the Wits School of Governance and from 2004-16, directed the University of KwaZulu-Natal Centre for Civil Society. His PhD studies were at Johns Hopkins University (1985-93) under the supervision of David Harvey, and he also studied at Swarthmore College, the Peabody Conservatory and the University of Pennsylvania. He has lived in Southern Africa since 1989, and was editor or author of more than a dozen policy papers in the Mandela government. His books include BRICS (edited with Ana Garcia, 2015), Elite Transition (2014), South Africa - The Present as History (with John Saul, 2014), Politics of Climate Justice (2012), Durban's Climate Gamble (2011) and a dozen others.

Emerging Market Crisis Series

Steering the budget between excess patronage and prudence

Feb 25, 2017 12:28 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy

After investigating the massacre (as termed by both the opposition Democratic Alliance and African National Congress Youth League) of more than 100 mental health patients under the guise of cutting costs, South Africas...

Emerging Market Crisis Series

South Africa needs tougher exchange controls before junk status hits

Nov 10, 2016 22:35 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy

During this interminable period of economic stagnation, with no prospects of an upturn in sight thanks in part to Donald Trumps victory, South Africa desperately needs the radical economic transformation repeatedly...

Why military and market responses are no way to save species from extinction

Sep 26, 2016 05:34 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

The arrival of climate change brings with it large-scale habitat loss and unprecedented species extinctions. The booming black and grey markets in already-threatened animals, including the rhino, elephant, and pangolin,...

Economy

Canada’s Trade Deficit Jumps in November as Exports Slide and Firms Diversify Away From U.S.

Canada recorded a sharp increase in its monthly international trade deficit in November as merchandise exports fell significantly, highlighting ongoing challenges tied to trade diversification and U.S. tariff uncertainty....

U.S. Eases Venezuela Oil Sanctions to Boost American Investment After Maduro Ouster

The Trump administration has eased select sanctions on Venezuelas oil industry, signaling a major policy shift aimed at encouraging U.S. investment following the ouster of President Nicolás Maduro earlier this...

Oil Prices Surge Toward Biggest Monthly Gains in Years Amid Middle East Tensions

Oil prices are heading for their largest monthly gains in years as escalating Middle East tensions fuel concerns over potential supply disruptions, particularly involving Iran, one of the worlds largest OPEC producers....

Indonesia Stocks Face Fragile Sentiment After MSCI Warning and Market Rout

Indonesia stocks are set for a cautious start as investor sentiment remains fragile following a sharp market selloff triggered by concerns raised by MSCI. The Jakarta Composite Index suffered its steepest two-day decline...

Asian Stocks Waver as Trump Signals Fed Pick, Shutdown Deal and Tech Earnings Stir Markets

Asian stock markets were volatile in early Friday trading as investors reacted to fresh signals from U.S. President Donald Trump on government funding and monetary policy, alongside mixed corporate earnings from major U.S....

Politics

Trump Threatens Aircraft Tariffs as U.S.-Canada Jet Certification Dispute Escalates

U.S. President Donald Trump has intensified trade tensions with Canada by announcing the decertification of Bombardier Global Express business jets and threatening steep new tariffs on Canadian-made aircraft. In a...

Trump Warns UK and Canada Against Deepening Business Ties With China

U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a strong warning to the United Kingdom and Canada over expanding business cooperation with China, describing such moves as very dangerous during a recent public appearance. His...

Faith Leaders Arrested on Capitol Hill During Protest Against Trump Immigration Policies and ICE Funding

Dozens of faith leaders were arrested on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., after staging a protest against President Donald Trumps immigration policies and calling for funding restrictions on U.S. Immigration and Customs...

Democrats Question Intelligence Chief’s Role in FBI Georgia Election Raid

Top Democrats on the U.S. Senate and House intelligence committees are demanding answers after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was present during a recent FBI raid on an election facility in Georgia, an...

Trump Threatens 50% Tariff on Canadian Aircraft Amid Escalating U.S.-Canada Trade Dispute

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday escalated tensions with Canada by announcing plans to impose a 50% tariff on all Canadian-made aircraft sold in the United States, citing Canadas refusal to certify several jets...

Science

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Technology

Apple Faces Margin Pressure as Memory Chip Prices Surge Amid AI Boom

Apple is beginning to feel the strain from rapidly rising memory chip prices, a challenge that is expected to intensify in the current quarter as the global semiconductor market pivots toward artificial intelligence...

Apple Earnings Beat Expectations as iPhone Sales Surge to Four-Year High

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) delivered a strong fiscal first-quarter 2026 earnings report, comfortably beating Wall Street expectations on both profit and revenue, driven by its strongest iPhone sales growth in more than four...

OpenAI Reportedly Eyes Late-2026 IPO Amid Rising Competition and Massive Funding Needs

OpenAI is reportedly accelerating preparations for a potential initial public offering (IPO), with plans to go public by the fourth quarter of 2026, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the...

Sandisk Stock Soars After Blowout Earnings and AI-Driven Outlook

Sandisk shares surged more than 15% in after-hours trading on Thursday after the data storage and memory solutions company delivered a fiscal second-quarter earnings report that significantly exceeded Wall Street...

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Explores Merger Options With Tesla or xAI, Reports Say

Elon Musks SpaceX is reportedly exploring potential merger and consolidation options with Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) or artificial intelligence startup xAI, according to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the...