David R. Sands
Articles by David R. Sands
Angela Merkel takes tough line on Greece ahead of key meeting
German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave no sign Monday she's ready to ease the hard line she has taken with the new government in Greece over its financial crisis, saying the austerity package her government has demanded remains the "basis of any discussion we have" with Athens over a new bailout. Published February 9, 2015
Hiring strong, but U.S. jobless rate ticks up to 5.7 percent
The U.S. job machine continued to fire on all cylinders in January, adding a higher-than-expected 257,000 jobs while estimates of previous monthly growth were also revised sharply higher, the government reported Friday. Published February 6, 2015
DAVID R. SANDS: Another rising Chinese star makes his mark on chess
China's women have already taken the chess world by storm, and now the Chinese men are trying to follow in their path. Published February 2, 2015
Minister: ‘No’ role for FARC after Colombia peace deal
There will be no role for Colombia’s leftist FARC guerrilla movement in the nation’s armed forces even if peace talks now underway produce an end to the country’s long civil war, Colombian Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon said Friday. Published January 30, 2015
Venezuela hits Ford profits with Nicolas Maduro currency, market controls
Its economy is in free fall, inflation is soaring and its dominant export — oil — is plummeting in value, but Venezuela is still making its impact felt as some of America's biggest corporate names release their latest quarterly earnings statements. Published January 29, 2015
Fed holds firm, gives no hint of rate hike
Interest rates will remain at historic lows for the time being as the Federal Reserve finished a two-day meeting without announcing a shift in policy. Published January 28, 2015
Strong dollar weakens earnings, competitiveness for top U.S. companies
Some of America's biggest and best-known companies are paying the price for the country's economic strength, as the surging U.S. dollar is cutting into foreign sales and profits across of a slew of industries. Published January 27, 2015
DAVID R. SANDS: Magnus Carlsen streaks to win in first major chess tourney of 2015
Remarkably, his last tournament win came April, but world champion Magnus Carlsen was back in a familiar place — first — at the just-concluded Tata Steel Masters tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, the first elite super GM gathering of the year. Published January 27, 2015
DAVID R. SANDS: Magnus Carlsen in charge as Tata chess tourney enters the home stretch
An impressive five-game win streak has put world champion Magnus Carlsen in the driver's seat at the first major tournament of 2015. Published January 20, 2015
Weak holiday retail numbers clouds U.S. recovery hopes
U.S. retail sales unexpectedly tumbled nearly 1 percent in December, the Commerce Department announced Wednesday, sending U.S. stock markets lower and leading at least one analyst to says it's time to pump the brakes on talk of a strong U.S. economic rebound in 2015. Published January 14, 2015
DAVID R. SANDS: Rough start for young U.S. chess star as Tata battles get underway
It's been a rough hazing for America's newest — and youngest — grandmaster as 14-year-old New Yorker Sam Sevian suffered two losses and a draw out of the gate at the Tata Steel Challengers tournament that got underway last week in the storied chess town of Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands. Published January 13, 2015
No religion safe from satire of Charlie Hebdo cartoonists, writers
A ring of Roman Catholic cardinals voting on a new pope are drawn engaged in group gay sex. A mock movie ad for "Untouchables 2" shows a Jewish rabbi pushing a Muslim imam seated in a wheelchair. Singer Michael Jackson is depicted as a dancing skeleton just days after his fatal drug overdose. President Obama tries to "reassure" white American voters by asking a hooded KKK member to be his running mate. Published January 7, 2015
DAVID R. SANDS: Alexander Ivanov adds to his collection of Eastern Open chess titles
With his closest pursuers all winning, veteran Massachusetts GM Alexander Ivanov came through with a last-round win over D.C. master Srdjan Darmanovic to capture the 41st annual Eastern Open last month, a Washington year-end tradition held at the Doubletree Hotel in Bethesda. Published January 6, 2015
Invisible Children, group behind Joseph Kony video, will slim operations
While notorious Lord's Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony remains — for now — at large, the organization that did the most to spotlight his crimes and spark an international manhunt for his capture is closing down its mission in Uganda as part of a major downsizing. Published December 31, 2014
DAVID R. SANDS: Cuba move a boon for chess
It probably didn't factor into his decision, but President Obama's recent diplomatic breakthrough with Cuba could have the side benefit of re-establishing normal relations with one of the world's great chess-playing cultures, a country with a rich history in the game that has long punched above its weight in global chess circles. Published December 30, 2014
DAVID R. SANDS: Basking in the Basque: Format offers unique chess challenges
It's rapidly (no pun intended) becoming one of my favorite events of the year. In addition to bridge, Go, checkers and other tournaments, the annual SportAccord World Mind Games, held earlier this month in Beijing, includes a "Basque rapid" chess event in which top grandmasters play two games simultaneously, one with the White pieces and one with the Black. Published December 23, 2014
DAVID R. SANDS: St. Louis claims first crown in U.S. Chess League play
In St. Louis this year, the Cardinals were good, but the Arch Bishops were better. The baseball team may have come up short in the playoffs, but the Gateway City's U.S. Chess League franchise went all the way, winning its first league championship in a blitz playoff against the Dallas Destiny Dec. 3. Published December 22, 2014
Safer roads: Traffic fatalities down nearly 25% over past decade
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Friday that traffic fatalities on U.S. roads fell by 3.1 percent in 2013, while the number of people injured in crashes also declined by 2.1 percent. Published December 19, 2014
Government regulations hamper hiring, economic growth, manufacturers group president says
NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: American manufacturers are longing to invest and create new jobs to fuel American growth but are being held back by costly regulations coming from Washington and uncertainty about what lies ahead, the head of the nation's biggest manufacturing trade group said. Published December 17, 2014
Federal Reserve Board will be ‘patient’ about possible rate hike in 2015
Sending a subtle but clear signal of a change to come, the Federal Reserve Board ended a two-day meeting by holding U.S. interest rates steady and saying it will be "patient" about ending the easy-money stance it has adopted since the onset of the Great Recession. Published December 17, 2014
