US prices ballooned, and then burst. Now the government must borrow heavily once again to stave off an abrupt collapse in values and demand. Such heavy borrowing, 12 percent of the country's GDP this year, depends on the willingness of other countries to buy US debt. But solvent countries and...
North Korea is getting ready to launch a satellite again, using a long-range rocket that could reach Alaska. Analysts wonder if this is an attention getter for the new US administration or an attempt by a fading leader to prepare the population for succession while warning foreign enemies. The...
The Sichuan earthquake in May 2008 devastated entire communities, but it also witnessed the sprouting of grassroots organizations in the rubble. Notable among these has been the 512 Center, a grassroots group of activists who moved quickly to coordinate rescue efforts and alleviate suffering after...
Civil war has divided Sri Lanka since 1983, as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam fought for a separate state for Tamils, which comprise 18 percent of the country’s population. But global and regional events that conspired against the rebel cause can’t be counted on during the post-conflict phase,...
As the global economy sinks deeper into recession, political leaders look to any country with hefty surpluses and a strong manufacturing sector, such as China, to restore growth. But China’s economy is lagging, too, and World Bank economist David Dollar points out that a decline in imports,...
Countless dollars in energy from limited fossil fuels are wasted – a result of aging and inefficient factories, homes not being insulated and vehicles manufactured without any regard for conservation. The cost of oil is down now because global demand is down, but energy-importing nations could...
Europeans shrugged about a credit crisis in 2008, chalking it up to a lavish American lifestyle, dependent on debt, and assumed they were immune. But national economies are tightly connected, particularly those of the European Union, and crisis spread quickly. Compounding the financial crisis is...
Cambodia suffered years of hurt, from French and Japanese occupation to American invasion and massive bombing. The end of the US war in 1975 opened an even grislier chapter in Cambodia’s history. The rise of the Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot brought unprecedented misery as the regime emptied cities,...
To fend off an economic disaster, governments around the globe, from China to the US, lower interest rates, increase the money supply, enact stimulus packages and urge their citizens to shop to save jobs and fix the economy. All eyes are on the US, the worlds' biggest economy, where personal...
The warnings on protectionism are dire. Economists and historians repeatedly remind us about the danger of sliding into protectionism embodied in the notorious Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930. By raising import tariffs on thousands of goods, inviting retaliation, causing collapse of international...
“Slumdog Millionaire” is a rag-to-riches love story that has captured the world’s imagination. An orphan growing up in the squalor of Mumbai’s poorest neighborhoods overcomes overwhelming odds that life throws at him, learning in the process much that prepares him to compete in a popular game show...
With the rest of the world looking for leadership in emerging from economic crisis, how to stimulate the growth in China and the US has become the most urgent task. Other nations expect the pair to coordinate policy and do what they can to unfreeze credit, restore stable growth and ease unbalances...
