Visiting the sick man of Europe

Today, I’m writing from London, a city with a severe hangover. A huge, dark cloud hangs over the future of Britain, a year after its decision to leave the European Union and a couple of days after officials have begun Brexit negotiations. Some Brits draw comfort by looking back to a past when Great Britain really was great. Back then, at its largest, the empire governed 20 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of its land area. That was 95 years ago. 

Now, the UK depends on imports, unable to produce the food, medicines and cars it needs. Since the day that 52 percent of British voters chose to leave the EU, the pound has lost 16 percent of its value compared to the euro, and economic growth has slowed to 0.2 percent compared to the previous year. Bloomberg just published a set of 10 economic warning signals to show “Britain is near a tipping point.”