Daily Archives: February 29, 2020

NJDOL Partners with Industry Leaders to Advance

Manufacturing in the Garden State

Regional Kickoff Events Held This Week

TRENTON The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) launched a new partnership with the states advanced manufacturers this week, holding kickoff events in North, South, and Central Jersey.

The last of the three events was held today at Brand Aromatics in Lakewood. NJDOLs Manufacturing Industry Partnerships are designed to help manufacturers thrive in the Garden State, support Gov. Murphys vision of a stronger, fairer economy and are an important step in implementing his talent-based economic development plan, Jobs NJ.

Industry Partnerships position businesses to work with public partners, such as local colleges and universities, to resolve the most pressing workforce, economic and education challenges in their industry.

We know that meeting the needs of business cant solely be about training it requires a comprehensive approach, said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. We want everyone to not only have a seat at the table, but be actively engaged with each other, learning and developing our states workforce through all the connections and resources available.

The goal of the Industry Partnerships model is to work collaboratively with business to identify their workforce needs, including education level and specialized training, then buttress the sector by investing in strategies to make it successful, which could include raising career awareness with millennials and high school students, identifying public partners, or identifying opportunities for collaboration or resource sharing.Because these partnerships are region-based, kickoffs also were held at Eastern Millworks, Inc. in Jersey City last Friday, and Radwell International in Willingboro on Tuesday.

Industry Partnerships brought leaders in manufacturing together to discuss our biggest challenges, with the direct support of government and education in the room, said John Radwell, Vice-President of Customer Satisfaction at Radwell. One of the most discussed issues is improving our talent pipeline, and this forum helped us agree to bring more students and teachers into our facilities, fostering internships, co-ops, and more hands-on opportunities.

NJ Economic Development Authority CEO Tim Sullivan added: Advanced Manufacturing is one of the high-growth sectors identified in Governor Murphys plan for a stronger and fairer economy, and supporting this industry is key to creating good jobs for New Jersey residents. The input we have received from conversations with industry leaders will facilitate the development of initiatives that address the challenges the industry faces. We appreciate the opportunity to partner with Commissioner Asaro-Angelo and his team.

Industry Partnerships for New Jerseys other key industries will include Finance; Retail Trade; Life Sciences; Health Care; Technology; Construction and Energy; Leisure and Hospitality; and Transportation, Distribution and Logistics.

Businesses leaders interested in learning more are invited to visit industrypartnerships.nj.gov or call (609) 292-2468.

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NJDOL Partners with Industry Leaders to Advance Manufacturing in the Garden State - InsiderNJ

However, there is one area where the royal couple still rule supreme in the popularity stakes, beating even the publics current darlings, William and Kate, into second place. According to the New York Times the Duke and Duchess of Sussex feature in nine of the ten most popular posts across both the SussexRoyal and KensingtonRoyal Instagram accounts. Prince Harry and Meghan, who run the SussexRoyal feed, are prominent in the most-liked photographs, not just on their own account, but also on Prince William and Kate Middleton's platform, KensingtonRoyal.

The one exception was a sweet image of Prince George and Princess Charlotte in their school uniforms.

The two children of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge featured on KensingtonRoyal ahead of Charlotte's first day at school in September 2019.

Data provided by CrowdTangle, a Facebook owned company, showed that the most popular image was a photo of the Queen and Prince Philip meeting Meghan and Harry's son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.

The image was loaded up to the SussexRoyal account on May 8, 2019, shortly after his birth.

In the photo, the Duke and Duchess can be seen standing next to Meghans mother, Doria Ragland, while the Queen and Prince Philip look on adoringly at the new royal arrival.

An incredible 2,903,082 liked the photo, making it the most popular by far.

This comes as Harry was warned that he risks alienating many Canadians and igniting public anger if he aggressively pushes his climate change agenda in his new North American home.

Harry is a passionate environmentalist and has often spoken out about the dangers posed by climate change.

JUST IN:Queen on brink: Royal Family faces Commonwealth rebellion

While on a trip to Botswana last year, the Duke of Sussex described planet Earth as being in a state of emergency and encouraged people to join the fight.

In an impassioned speech, he told an audience: We are losing the race against climate change. Everyone knows it. Theres no excuse for not knowing that.

The most troubling part of it is that I dont believe that theres anybody in this world that can deny science undeniable science and facts science and facts that have been around for the last 30, maybe 40, years and its only getting stronger and stronger.

Aaron Wudrick from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has cautioned Harry that he faces being given a chilly reception in Canada if he goes on the offensive with his global warming campaigning.

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Mr Wudrick pointed out that almost half the country and western Canada in particular, where Harry and Meghan have made their new home, relied on the oil and gas industry for an income.

The CTF director, whose organisation has launched a campaign against the federal carbon tax, told Express.co.uk: We believe in climate change, but we do not support the tool they are using to fight it.

On that issue generally I think that if Harry wants to engage in political campaigns, he will need to be very sensitive to the political realities in Canada.

He will not find a very warm welcome in many parts of this country if he is aggressively in support of things like carbon taxes.

He will get a very chilly reception in many parts of Canada if he does.

He explained: So much of western Canada is a very natural resource based economy.

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Revealed: The one area where Meghan and Harry are still more POPULAR than William and Kate - Express

Harry is a passionate environmentalist and has often spoken out about the dangers posed by climate change. While on a trip to Botswana last year, the Duke of Sussex described planet Earth as being in a state of emergency and encouraged people to join the fight. In an impassioned speech, he told an audience: We are losing the race against climate change. Everyone knows it. Theres no excuse for not knowing that.

The most troubling part of it is that I dont believe that theres anybody in this world that can deny science undeniable science and facts science and facts that have been around for the last 30, maybe 40, years and its only getting stronger and stronger.

Aaron Wudrick from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has cautioned Harry that he faces being given a chilly reception in Canada if he goes on the offensive with his global warming campaigning.

Mr Wudrick pointed out that almost half the country and western Canada in particular, where Harry and Meghan have made their new home, relied on the oil and gas industry for an income.

The CTF director, whose organisation has launched a campaign against the federal carbon tax, told Express.co.uk: We believe in climate change, but we do not support the tool they are using to fight it.

On that issue generally I think that if Harry wants to engage in political campaigns, he will need to be very sensitive to the political realities in Canada.

He will not find a very warm welcome in many parts of this country if he is aggressively in support of things like carbon taxes.

He will get a very chilly reception in many parts of Canada if he does.

He explained: So much of western Canada is a very natural resource based economy.

JUST IN:Meghan Markle and Prince Harry MUST have their security paid for by UK

On Thursday Mr Trudeaus Government finally admitted defeat and confirmed it would no longer fund the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs security bills.

Public Safety Canada, the body responsible for the royal couples security, said: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex choosing to relocate to Canada on a part-time basis presented our government with a unique and unprecedented set of circumstances.

The RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) has been engaged with officials in the UK from the very beginning regarding security considerations.

"As the Duke and Duchess are currently recognised as Internationally Protected Persons, Canada has an obligation to provide security assistance on an as-needed basis.

At the request of the Metropolitan Police, the RCMP has been providing assistance to the Met since the arrival of the Duke and Duchess to Canada intermittently since November 2019.

The assistance will cease in the coming weeks, in keeping with their change in status."

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Prince Harry warned against ALIENATING Canadians with climate change campaign - Express

Good morning! Its James Keller in Calgary.

Albertas United Conservative Party government delivered a budget this week that defied expectations and painted a relatively optimistic picture for the province in the coming years.

There were plenty of signs before the budget that the provinces fortunes had taken a turn. Oil prices have been on a steady downward slide and several banks and outside analysts had downgraded their projections for the provinces economic growth. Unemployment has been hovering above 7 per cent around where its been for two stubborn years.

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That led to fears that there would be even deeper cuts than what the government proposed four months ago in its 2019 budget, which introduced steep cuts in some areas, spending freezes in others, and widespread cuts to the public service.

But Finance Minister Travis Toews instead tabled a budget that largely stuck to last years plan. Health and education budgets remain flat (which critics have said is the same as a cut) and while there are cuts sprinkled throughout the budget, things dont look that different from October.

How did the government do that? Largely by betting on oil. The budget predicts a substantial recovery in the oil and gas sector in the next three years, with resource royalties almost returning to where they were before the recession. It predicts strong economic growth and unemployment shrinking to 5.1 per cent.

Getting there will be no small feat. The price of the West Texas Intermediate oil benchmark currently sits around US$45 a barrel. Oil prices have been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak and there remains global uncertainty about how long those effects will last.

A drop in the price of WTI of just US$1 cuts $355-million from provincial revenues.

The government is also projecting that its corporate tax cut which will slash the rate from 12 per cent under the previous government to 8 per cent when the cuts are fully implemented will breathe more life into the economy and, in turn, boost tax revenues.

The GDP growth projections are higher than some private-sector forecasts, and the unemployment rate targets are beyond what both the Conference Board of Canada and Stokes Economics have predicted.

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University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe says he was shocked by the budgets assumptions, particularly when it comes to oil prices, which are difficult to predict and can fluctuate wildly. He notes that the government didnt update its economic projections since the last budget in October and in some cases, such as unemployment, the new numbers are more optimistic.

Weve been seeing a gradual deterioration of Albertas economic conditions and the expectations for growth by many forecasters," he said, noting that there is increasing economic uncertainty around the world.

It was stunning. I cant imagine what the explanation is.

Kelly Cryderman writes that Albertas dependence on oil makes it particularly vulnerable to other factors, such as the economic fallout from the coronavirus: "What might have been viewed as a reasonable forecast from the Alberta government just a few weeks ago now feels optimistic. "

Gary Mason says the latest fiscal plan lays bare the quagmire that Alberta finds itself in: Naturally, this all assumes that projections for the price of oil over that period remain viable. (Insert laugh line here.) The province has ridden the oil and gas roller coaster for so long now it doesnt know how to get off.

This is the weekly Western Canada newsletter written by B.C. Editor Wendy Cox and Alberta Bureau Chief James Keller. If youre reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters here. This is a new project and well be experimenting as we go, so let us know what you think.

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Around the West

WETSUWETEN TALKS: Talks among senior government officials and Wetsuweten Nation hereditary chiefs aimed at resolving a B.C. pipeline dispute resumed on Friday, with officials striking an optimistic tone amid some signs of rail traffic getting back to normal. The talks, which began on Thursday, followed weeks of disruption that began after police on Feb. 6 started enforcing a court injunction on a B.C. logging road to clear the way to Coastal GasLink work sites.

LONE WOLF: The last time Cheryl Alexander saw the wolf Takaya, his limp body was being carried away from a backyard in Victorias high-density neighbourhood of James Bay. His life, just on the edge of the urban environment, offered a rare glimpse into something wild. But our coexistence with these apex predators is uneasy and complex. The end of his story is unknown.

MINING SUIT: The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Vancouver-based mining company Nevsun Resources Ltd. can be sued in Canada for alleged human-rights abuses abroad, a decision that is being welcomed by rights activists but broadens the potential legal liability for many Canadian corporations. About four years ago, the Eritreans launched a suit against Vancouver-based zinc and copper miner Nevsun in the lower B.C. court. The plaintiffs alleged that they were subject to forced labour, slavery and torture during the construction of Nevsuns Bisha mine in the east African country of Eritrea. The allegations have not been proved in court.

GRETA STICKER: RCMP in central Alberta say a decal that appears to show a well-known teenage climate activist in a sexual act is not child pornography. The decal bears the logo of X-Site Energy Services below a cartoon figure seeming to depict 17-year-old Greta Thunberg of Sweden. The companys general manager, Doug Sparrow, has denied having anything to do with the stickers.

MEDICARE TRIAL: A marathon legal battle that could ultimately change the future of Canadas health-care system concluded in Vancouver on Friday, more than a decade after it began. B.C. Supreme Court Justice John Steeves is now left to decide whether British Columbians should be able to pay for faster access to necessary medical care, a move that opponents say threatens medicares central organizing principle that health-care access should be prioritized based on need and not the ability to pay.

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SURREY POLICE: The British Columbia government has given Surrey permission to create a police board and take a number of other steps as it works to create a municipal force to replace the RCMP.

VIRUS IMPACT: Most of Calgarys city councillors had lunch at a restaurant in Chinatown this week to try to help reduce fears about the new coronavirus. Businesses in Chinatowns across Canada have reported a drop in activity since COVID-19 hit China in January and started to spread around the world. At Ho Wan Restaurant in Calgary, the owners son, Jason Zhang, says business is down about 70 per cent.

ALBERTA PARKS: The Alberta government wants to hand off management of 164 provincially run parks to outside groups. Modernizing Albertas parks system is long overdue, Jess Sinclair, spokeswoman for Environment Minister Jason Nixon, said Friday.

VANCOUVER NIGHTCLUBS: When the Caprice Nightclub closed on Granville Street two years ago and was replaced by the Colony, a multilevel bar with table tennis and arcade games, that marked a shift in Vancouvers downtown to a different generation. The downtowns new residents and visitors prefer lower-key bars to clubs. They are lining up for lunches at new quick-service restaurants such as Tractor, SMAK and Field & Social, rather than sitting down for something more elaborate. They love artisanal coffee bars such as Quantum or Matchstick. They really, really love Japanese food. Thats the picture of Vancouvers downtown revealed in a new study released Thursday, part of an effort by the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association to understand how its territory is changing.

PROPOSED PROJECT: A judge has issued a stay of a court order that required the Alberta government to make an immediate decision on a proposed oil sands project near Fort McMurray. Prosper Petroleum Ltd. has been waiting 19 months for the province to decide on its Rigel project, while similar projects have been approved in a third of the time.

TECK FRONTIER: Natural Resources Minister Seamus ORegan is on a hastily scheduled tour through Alberta as he tries to contain the backlash from the cancellation of the proposed Frontier oil sands mine. As his colleague Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson continues to distance the Liberals from the cancelled project, Mr. ORegan is making a full-court press in the Prairie province to allay concerns and affirm his governments commitment to the oil patch.

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Opinion:

Shiri Pasternak and Irina Ceric on the injunctions involved in the Coastal GasLink dispute: It is now increasingly clear that the injunction is a legal tool of political expediency. It has an almost arbitrary authority to empower law enforcement to contain and criminalize people by securing vague geographical boundaries and broad powers of removal, often indefinitely. In the hands of industry and governments alike, the injunction, still billed as an extraordinary legal remedy, has emerged as the all-too-ordinary response to Indigenous assertions of jurisdiction and solidarity.

Pam Palmater on Canadas history of depriving Indigenous groups of land and resources: The real issue has always been about the land. The way forward is recognition of our right to be self-determining over our own lands and resources. Anything less is just the same old Indian policy that invites more uncertainty and social conflict. Canada can do better. Its time to move past genocide and work toward respect for Indigenous land rights.

Globe Editorial on school shortages in downtown Vancouver: All fast-growing areas experience some strains. Yet governments consistently manage to plan and build roads, sewers and power for new communities, before people move in. There are no signs warning prospective condo buyers that, caveat emptor, your new home wont be getting electricity, running water or flush toilets until the 2030s. In contrast, schools in some growing urban neighbourhoods are being treated as a non-essential service.

Adrienne Tanner on why Vancouver school building hasnt kept pace with condo building: "The provincial government points out that the Olympic Village school is now the VSBs top capital priority. But the school might have been built quicker if the VSB had considered a money-saving proposal put forward by the province. The province proposed closing Queen Elizabeth Annex as a public facility and leasing the space to a French school in search of a home. That plan would have freed up money for capital projects such as the school at Olympic Village. The VSB rejected the idea, ergo the Olympic Village school remains a patch of dirt.

Andrew Leach on Teck Frontier: But now, Frontier will not move ahead. And there may not be another mine project on the horizon to force the provinces hand. If thats the case, we may yet come to rue the day Mr. Lindsay signed that letter, killing a symbol that housed so much potential, for better or worse.

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Western Canada: Alberta budget bets on oil to bring province out of economic slump - The Globe and Mail

This is an excerpt from "The Circular Economy Handbook: Realizing the Circular Advantage" by Peter Lacy, Jessica Long and Wesley Spindler. It is reprinted here with permission from Accenture Strategy.

The types and volume of industry-level circular activity vary widely. In general, consumer-facing industries have seen the largest volumes of circular activity, often driven by demands from consumers, governments and employees. Specifically, the leading players in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) have set ambitious circular economy goals, often with a focus on packaging and input waste reduction. The consumer-facing fashion industry has also seen an uptick in action and commitment on the circular economy, from use of alternative materials to product takeback and reuse. For these industries, rising consumer demand and expectations is a clear driver.

According to a 2019 Accenture survey, nearly three-quarters of consumers (72 percent) say they buy more "environmentally friendly products" today than five years ago. Growing public discourse on issues such as plastics and "disposable" fashion is spurring the "call to action" for brands in these sectors. More recently, however, business-to-business (B2B) industries that are less visible to consumers, such as chemical, and metals and mining companies, are starting to see a push from customers (or from the customers of customers). Indeed, a majority of consumers (83 percent) believe it is important for companies to design products that are meant to be reused or recycled, and about half (49 percent) believe that the chemical industry, for example, is the least concerned about the impact it has on the environment compared with eight other sectors.

Business-to-business industries that are less visible to consumers, such as chemical, and metals and mining companies, are starting to see a push from customers (or from the customers of customers).

Other industries feel the pressure of regulatory drivers. In the household appliances sector, for instance, increasing regulations on responsible treatment of products at end of use are pushing companies to focus on greater recovery of used machines. In the United States, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations require technicians who service refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment to follow specific practices to maximize recovery and recycling.

In some cases, circular economy principles naturally align with how industries have long managed their businesses, such as the focus on multi-decade product lifecycles for machinery and industrial equipment (M&IE) and automotive companies. These industries often have strong after-sales maintenance and services baked into their business models. Therefore, the transition to circularity is a natural extension of business-as-usual.

Across industries, a compelling financial case is emerging for the move from linear to circular models of production and consumption. To capture circular value and pivot to new growth areas, most industries adopt a dual focus: applying circular models to their existing value chains, while also incrementally altering the way they do things today. An example is driving efficiencies within operations while experimenting with Product as a Service business models. The typical mix of opportunities across industries includes a change to the product itself (via Circular Inputs, such as renewable materials), its production (the use of fewer resources and reduced resource or material waste), and its consumption (circular models that change the way that customers consume, re-consume or take control of a product at end of use).

The greatest opportunity for creativity and industry crossover occurs ... as each industry tries to figure out what it can and should take back into its value chain versus what it should divert for reuse.

Today, the greatest opportunity for creativity and industry crossover occurs at the intersection of Resource Recovery and Circular Inputs, as each industry tries to figure out what it can and should take back into its value chain versus what it should divert for reuse by others. We are seeing used shoes recycled into sports flooring or car interiors, unwanted plastics transformed into superior road surfaces and wastewater becoming fuel for public fleets. Although the crossover of Circular Inputs is still limited by technical feasibility, inadequate infrastructures and unintended impacts, the potential is huge.

Circular opportunities may also blur industry lines. Many businesses are finding opportunities by enabling circularity for other sectors. Oil and gas companies are getting into the electricity and e-mobility sectors, and chemical companies are embracing their role in textiles and food component innovation. Take, for example, American chemical company Eastman Chemicals circular recycling technology that has the potential to break down polyester-based products into "building blocks" which can, in turn, be used in new products, ultimately helping to solve the textile recycling challenge.

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What's driving the industry shift to circularity? - GreenBiz

Mainstream economic theory suggests that finance serves four main functions for the real economy resource allocation, price discovery, risk management and corporate governance. This universal finance theory or model sounds reasonable and applies to all places and all times, forgetting the context in which money plays a role in the real economy. Just like no country is an island, operating in the global economy, money is not an island it operates within a geopolitical systemic context.

US President Donald Trumps America First policy exposed the myth that the US dollar-denominated global money and financial system is a global public good. If the US dollar serves only the national issuers, then the rest of the world needs to think through what this truly means for global monetary and financial stability.

Mainstream finance theory suggests that money is the life blood of the real economy, helping to provide liquidity, means of payment, store of value, market price discovery and risk management, and reinforcing credit and governance discipline.

These basic functions appear as self-evident truths logical, consistent and convincing. But the 2007 global financial crisis revealed that these four functions can only operate depending on at least five more key interrelated preconditions of stability. Change in any one element would destabilise money and finance. These are: law and institutions, technology, politics, social inequality and climate change.

First, money and finance are legal contracts, subject to protection of the rule of law, including a functioning judiciary that is seen to be transparent, fair and efficient. As Trump has said, the (US) legal system is broken. What is there to stop judgements on contract disputes from being biased if the courts are subject to political interference?

Second, the speed and scale technological change in the 21st century, which was reasonably stable in the 19th century, has disrupted the economy in terms of lifestyle, process, institutions and jobs, threatening those without the knowledge and skills to compete. Financial technology is also disintermediating traditional financial institutions, while giving opportunities for cyber-fraud, insider dealing, market manipulation and predatory action against unsuspecting consumers. The concept of money has been disrupted by cryptocurrency, and cyber attacks can shut down any financial system.

Third, Mao Zedongs dictum that political power stems from the barrel of a gun can be extended to financial power. In a military conflict between the US and China, where would savings flee to the US dollar or RMB? The US dollar is defended not by the size of US foreign exchange reserves (small by global standards), but by the biggest military power in the world. Geopolitical rivalry, including the threat of geopolitical conflict, introduces political instability to exchange rates and, hence, to whole financial systems.

Fourth, political stability itself depends on social stability. Hence, it is no surprise that the rise of populism has been associated with widening income and wealth inequalities. The financialisation of markets has played a role in increasing leverage, lower interest rates, asset bubbles and the concentration of wealth and income in the hands of the few. Financial capitalism has ignored the issue of financial inclusion until almost too late. The poor and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have had difficulty in accessing funding because they lack capital and collateral, whereas the rich and wealthy can borrow, hedge and use leverage and inside information to amass greater wealth and income.

Fifth, climate change was never a major consideration within finance theory. Stability in weather was taken for granted as a normal, but global warming has created major climate change and natural disasters such as floods, droughts, fires, tsunamis, earthquakes and, now, pandemics. These disruptions are not only increasingly changing livelihoods and creating new opportunities, but also causing social dislocations. Human migration arising from climate change and disasters are stressing regions, for instance, Europes challenges in coping with large numbers of refugees and migrants.

In pushing for nationalism and protectionism, Trumps policies are no longer for a level playing field or the global public good, pushing ruthless self-interest (or mercantilism) over global growth or system stability as a whole.

Simply speaking, the conventional four functions of money and finance cannot function well with the five preconditions of institutional stability, technology, politics, inequality and climate change all interacting to change the system radically. We have to look at money and finance as an inter-related, inter-connected, dynamic and non-linear systemic whole. If the hegemon changes the game, money and politics cannot be separated.

Finance does not operate in a silo it is part of a complex, dynamic and interactive systemic whole in which politics trump finance.

This throws hitherto simplistic finance models out of the window, but must take into consideration history, path-dependence, institutions, culture and different governance factors, including religion. For example, Islamic finance is not an aberration from conventional finance because it is fundamentally equity-based financing, with very strict ethics-based or syariah rules. Equity-based financing is about risk-sharing, whereas debt-based financing is about risk-transfer from the lender to the borrower. I have always argued that equity-based finance is much more inclusive and justified than debt-based finance.

From this viewpoint, mainstream money and finance theory are from the hegemons perspective rather than from the rest. The hegemon with the dominant reserve currency is the too-big-to-fail borrower since the rest have to hold that currency because there are few alternatives.

A small country cannot influence the global situation, so its currency is greatly influenced by the dominant players, including speculative players who are very large relative to the domestic players. Since there are no global financial market regulators, erosion of the US financial regulators ability to monitor global financial markets would create opportunities for insider trading, market manipulation and market abuses at the global level and, particularly, in smaller markets without the financial and enforcement powers to stop such abuses.

The idea that financial markets are level playing fields was always a myth. Financial markets have become more concentrated than ever and the regulators powers to check predatory behaviour, including basic rules such as the fiduciary rule (that financial institutions should act in the best interest of their clients) are being eroded.

Reforming finance therefore has been a major pre-occupation since the last financial crisis. Central bankers today are nervously tip-toeing into issues of inequality and climate change, which in the popular mind are exacerbated by quantitative easing. At the same time, cryptocurrencies issued by private issuers are eroding the central bank monopoly franchise to print money.

It is easy to criticise mainstream finance theory, but very tough to find what should replace it. A fashionable replacement is Modern Monetary Theory, which argues that we should not worry about increasing inflation, money supply and fiscal debt, but make sure that the real economy is growing and more inclusive. To conservatives, that sounds like snake oil. To liberals, that is a solution for Nirvana.

The 2020 US presidential elections will unveil which model the American voters like. Either way, with the US fiscal deficit running at over US$1 trillion annually, the world is buying short-term prosperity on the never-never.

Tan Sri Andrew Sheng writes on global issues from an Asian perspective

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Condivergence: Why standard finance theory is incomplete - The Edge Markets MY

By WIN GRUENING

It is our duty as Alaskans to be at the forefront of climate change mitigation strategies and new resource opportunities. Alaska Center Climate Action Plan

Alaskas elected officials share a common goal of solving Alaskas structural revenue-expense imbalance. No more short-term band aids we need long-term solutions.

Despite fossil-fuel naysayers, the oil industry will continue as Alaskas main revenue source (outside of the Permanent Fund) in the near future.Seafood, tourism, and mining will also contribute as significant components of the economy.

But the mining industry, more than any other, has the most potential for growth (and to put our people to work year-round) by providing the world withkey components for electric-vehicle batteries and aid in the advancement of othercriticalgreen technologies.

In 2017, the World Bank released a report, titled The Growing Role of Minerals and Metals in a Low-Carbon Future. The report details how wind turbines, solar panels and batteries are all incredibly reliant on a myriad of minerals.

For more than a century, Alaska has produced a variety of minerals, especially metals produced from hard rock. Today, Alaska only produces gold, silver, lead, and zinc in large quantities.Alaska was the top silver producer in the U.S. in 2017, and zinc and lead were the states top two foreign exports.

According to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), our state has over 7,400 documented prospects.Alaska ranks 5th out of 83 worldwide jurisdictions in overall investment attractiveness by mining and exploration companies and ranks 3rd in mineral potential. (Fraser Institute Annual Survey of Mining Companies, 2018).

In 2018, DNR reported production of almost 16 million ounces of precious metals (gold and silver) and about 825,000 tons of base metals (lead and zinc).This is only a fraction of the estimated reserves potentially available for exploration and development in Alaska.

A report from McDowell Group, an Alaska-based economic consulting firm, says mining employed 9,200 Alaskans directly and indirectly during 2018, and injected $715 million in payroll into the states economy. Mine workers were among the highest-paid with an average annual salary of $102,100. Mining employees live in more than 60 communities throughout Alaska.

Estimated revenues to the State of Alaska from mineral-industry-specific fees, rents, sales, royalties, and taxes amounted to more than $148.6 million in 2018.An additional $34.2 million was paid to municipalities.

Thousands of everyday products require mined metals, including electric vehicles. The minerals extracted from our mines are used in many of the technology tools we use today, from laptops to complex space-age devices.

The rise of green energy technologies required to reduce carbon emissions is expected to lead to significant growth in demand for a wide range of minerals and metals, such as aluminum, copper, lead, lithium, cobalt, manganese, nickel, silver, steel, zinc and rare earth minerals such as neodymium-used in magnets and electric vehicles.

The study points to the fact that most rare earth metals come from China or other areas of unrest, corruption, and human rights abuses such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Alaskas environmental awareness, regulations, and labor practices are clearly superior to most countries where mining occurs.Furthermore, there is real concern America could potentially be held hostage by China and others that have control of rare-earth metals and minerals that are critical to Americas economy and security.

Objections to the expansion of existing mines like Greens Creek or Kensington near Juneau as well so potential mining projects like the Herbert River and Constantine prospects, or the rare-earth Bokan Mountain project in Southeast Alaska, are short-sighted.These projects would stimulate our economy, reduce dependence on foreign mineral sources, and improve global environmental quality.

Mining can and should be one of the cornerstones of true diversification of our natural resources and state and local economies.Gov. Dunleavys formation of the Alaska Development Team to help advance mining projects as well as stimulate other areas of the economy is a welcome start.

If we open our minds to the possibilities, Alaska can be a leader in the effort to supply our nations critical mineral needs.If we dont, others will take advantage and it will be an opportunity lost.

Win Gruening retired as the senior vice president in charge of business banking for Key Bank in 2012. He was born and raised in Juneau and graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1970. He is active in community affairs as a 30-plus year member of Juneau Downtown Rotary Club and has been involved in various local and statewide organizations.

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A mine is a terrible thing to waste - Must Read Alaska

Fingers are pointing in all directions.

On Sunday, Feb. 23 Teck Resources Limited announced a notice of withdrawal of their regulatory application for the Frontier oil sands project from the federal environmental assessment process.

The federal government was expected to grant or reject final approval of the mine by the end of this week. Premier Jason Kenney alleges that the federal cabinet advised Teck that they wouldnt provide a yes or no decision on the application this week, but instead it would be deferred to some point in the future. Trudeaus director of communications denied this allegation and in a statement said a decision hadnt been reached.

Regardless of who said what, and when, Kenney released a statement after the withdrawal that said his government did their part, but the federal governments inability to convey a clear or unified position let Alberta, and Teck, down.

Albertans had high hopes that the project, touted as a socially and environmentally responsible project by the Vancouver-based company, would provide 7,000 jobs and $70 billion dollars in new tax and royalty revenues that could have funded social services in the province for the next four decades. A day before the withdrawal the project received support from 14 First Nations and Mtis organizations in the area about 110 kilometres north of Fort McMurray.

In a statement addressed to Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada, Teck Resources president and CEO Don Lindsay said there is an urgent need to reduce global carbon emissions and support action on climate change. He adds:

Global capital markets are changing rapidly and investors and customers are increasingly looking for jurisdictions to have a framework in place that reconcils resource development and climate change, in order to produce the cleanest possible products.

In fact, throughout the two page letter the company made references to addressing climate change, global carbon emissions, environmental regulations and ethical oil. Images of clear water and greenery also grace the Frontier projects online brochure as if to cloud the reality that this very project would have generated about 4.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually while producing up to 260,000 barrels of oil per day by 2037.

Last week Wilkinson said Albertas 100-million-tonne cap on oilsands emissions could be exceeded by 2030 if the $20.6-billion project was approved.

Teck Resources based the viability of its Frontier mine on the premise that oil prices would average about $95 per barrel until the 2060s. The current price of oil is less than $60 per barrel and Canadas National Energy Board predicts that $75 is likely a long-term price.

Teck also proposed a project that will cost $20 billion to build, while their entire market capitalization is under $10 billion. This endeavour is especially risky during a time when many investors are undecided on the future of the oil sands. The sector is in a tough position with low oil prices, legal challenges, regulatory uncertainty, opposition, constrained pipeline capacity and Trudeaus governments commitment to lower greenhouse gas emissions and adhere to climate policy.

Ottawa's handling of the rail blockades has also been to blame for Tecks withdrawal.

Its also understandable that Kenney feels hes lost a significant bid for greater control and autonomy for Alberta within Canada. He says factors that led to the withdrawal will further weaken national unity.

Reckoning aside, if Kenney wants to lead our province into economic prosperity he may need to look beyond oil and gas. This projects failure should be seen as a sign that our provinces economy needs to be diversified and action on Kenneys part needs to happen sooner than later.

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Teck withdrawal might be the shakedown Alberta needs - Cochrane Today