UniCredit’s effort to buy Commerzbank tests a broader project to revive Europe’s vitality, but parochial thinking and myopia prevent it

Bad news!

Unfortunately, the acquisition of the German state-owned Commerzbank has become a matter of national parochialism for Germany and Chancellor Scholz. See also my related blog post here.

"It is a deal that Europe has wanted for a generation: two big banks combining forces across borders, uniting economies and unleashing growth that has long eluded the region. Instead, Italian banker Andrea Orcel’s surprise attempt to combine his UniCredit with Germany’s Commerzbank has turned into a case study on what holds Europe back from keeping pace with the U.S. in economic heft."

The Wall Street Journal What's news

Europe Falls Further Behind By Refusing To Adopt English As The Language Of Science And Engineering

Posted: 10/14/2019

Apparently, the German state of Bavaria has recently tried to implement that the english language is used more frequently to teach science and engineering at Bavarian universities. This is a very laudable initiative! However, plenty of parochial and outright foolish criticism may doom this initiative!

Chinese scientists manage easily to publish and communicate in English. Indian scientists and engineers speak English with ease. German scientists and engineers better be prepared to rise to the challenge of a lingua franca!

It would be illusory to think that an Indian scientist or engineer would bother to learn German or French!

Just amazing what foolish articles (S1, S2, S3) these talking heads of a leading German media outlet (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) are capable to write. Are the chief editor and the other responsible editors sleeping at the switch? Little doubt this is the case!

Sources (S):

1. AN BAYERISCHEN HOCHSCHULEN: Hauptsache, Englisch (10/14/2019)
2. BAYERISCHE UNIVERSITÄTEN: Mehr rein englischsprachige Studiengänge (10/14/2019)
3. ENGLISCH IN DER WISSENSCHAFT: Eine erzwungene Einsprachigkeit wäre autokratisch (6/4/2018)