“To those of us who studied political science, Perú presents a bit of a taxonomic conundrum. We’re all taught at school that systems where the executive needs to keep parliament on side to stay in power are called ‘parliamentary,’ and systems where the executive is separately elected and serves a fixed term independent of legislative majorities are called ‘presidential.’ These are the two flavors democracy comes in. Everyone knows this. Perú didn’t get the memo. Peruvian legislators have figured out one weird trick that magically turns a presidential system parliamentary.” (02/26/26)
“Severe weather events now cause billions in damages annually, while electricity demand is on the rise — driven by economic growth and the expansion of artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing. Building resilient, modern infrastructure will be essential for maintaining global competitiveness, ensuring affordability and reliability, and supporting a growing domestic economy. Yet even as our capacity to build the economic and technical infrastructure we need has stalled, we are also losing much of the natural infrastructure we depend on.” (02/26/26)
“French utility Engie will buy electricity distributor UK Power Networks for 10.5 billion pounds ($14.2 billion) in a bid to expand its power business, the company said on Wednesday as it reported flat full-year earnings and revised upward its outlook for the coming years. The deal, due to close in mid-2026, is expected to boost per-share earnings from the first year, the company said. UK Power Networks is owned by Hong Kong-listed CK Infrastructure Holdings (1038.HK), opens new tab (CKI). … UK Power Networks operates 192,000 km (119, 300 miles) of power lines serving 8.5 million customers across London and the southeast and eastern parts of England.” (02/26/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott
“In the wake of Japan’s early general election on February 8, 2026, much of the commentary has focused on two major aspects: the landslide victory of Sanae Takaichi’s Jiyū-Minshutō (Liberal Democrat Party, LDP) of 316 seats; and LDP’s hardline shift against immigration and foreign workers. Underdiscussed, however, are the likely impacts the election outcome has on Japan’s economic fortunes.” (02/26/26)
“Trump administration officials are apparently aware that Americans do not want to go to war with Iran. Indeed, poll after poll (after poll) shows that voters have no interest in starting another Middle East conflict, let alone embarking on an Iraq war-style regime change operation. But the White House is working on ways around that. Trump officials’ latest thinking, according to a new report from Politico, is to have the Israelis attack Iran first and hope the Iranian retaliation targets U.S. forces in the region, which, in turn the theory apparently goes, Americans back home would be more supportive of a U.S. counterstrike in defense of U.S. troops.” (02/26/26)
“Iran may be willing to accept a new nonproliferation agreement with limits far beyond what the Non-Proliferation Treaty requires, but it is not going to accept those limits indefinitely. You can have significant limitations on Iran’s nuclear program for a certain period of time, but you are never going to get those limitations made permanent. Smart negotiators would understand that and adjust accordingly. The U.S. has Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner instead.” (02/26/26)
