Familiar risks reappear in 2020, but amplified; agility is key for businesses

MICHAEL Bloomberg's selection as the Democratic candidate for the US presidential elections in 2020 will be the moment that international business breathes a sigh of relief.

Regardless of his party, his subsequent election will convince many that order is restored, and that the past decade has been an aberration.

However, if he fails on either count, it will confirm what many of us suspect - the rules for global business and international relations have been altered beyond recognition, and the instability we are now experiencing is here to stay.

Many of the people who lead major international businesses cut their teeth during a time of remarkable order and clarity.

The post-cold war era morphed into the economic, military and cultural hegemony of the US-led West and for business this meant global supply chains, global …