Comment du Jour

Global Scorecard for Innovation and Development

Not surprisingly countries leading in Research & Development are among the world’s most successful economies.  Switzerland,  the Netherlands, and Sweden top the list among the top ten global innovation economies which also include the United Kingdom, Singapore, the United States, Finland, Germany and Ireland.  

The release of the Global Innovation Index 2018 (GII) proves the point with a listing of 126 countries standings in the world.

In fact, European states comprise seven out of the top ten Innovation countries. 

In a joint survey between New York’s Cornell University and the UN’s World Intellectual     Property Organization (WIPO), the annual GII ranks economies based on 80 indicators ranging from “intellectual property filing rates, to mobile application creation, education spending and scientific and technical publications.”

The Survey states that “the U.S. ranks 6th overall this year.  In absolute terms the U.S. remains the top contributor in key innovation inputs and outputs, including in investment, in research and   development.” 

Comment du Jour

France Wins World Cup



Vive la France!

In an amazing and mightily contested Finals match,
France beat Croatia 4-2 in a Moscow showdown 
winning the World Cup!

This is the second FIFA World Cup for Les Bleus 
since 1998 when France won on home territory.

Croatia nonetheless was an serious and worthy opponent  
having bested  some of the top teams in Football and reaching
the Finals in Moscow.   Well done Croatia!

The World Cup in Russia provided an amazing series of
upsets where the top rated teams fell by the wayside.
Germany, Spain, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina...

Belgium and England reached the semi finals but soon
fell too.  

Comment du Jour

World Cup


Final Four Countdown

The FIFA World Cup of Football in Russia has been riveting and full of surprises. 

Least of which is that most of the favored National Teams fell by the wayside 
early on in the series.  Germany, Argentina, Spain, Portugal, Brazil and Uruguay.
In most cases the "experts" were wrong and the favorites tumbled. 

Others such as Japan, Sweden and Mexico played well but fell short too. 

What we have now are two strong teams France and England as well as two
very unexpected but equally tough contenders; Belgium and Croatia.  

All four challengers are European Union members; two Britain and Belgium are monarchies too.  

England's smooth and spirited win against Sweden and Croatia's breathtaking 
penalty kick victory over Russia set the tone for yet more surprises.  

EXPECT the UNEXPECTED!!!

Don't count out Belgium nor Croatia.

On 15 July in Moscow, the World Cup is decided.