In The News

Look Beyond the Street

Nayan Chanda October 24, 2011
To avoid a day of reckoning, governments should heed, not mock, the complaints emerging from movements that have gained rapid global momentum, contends Nayan Chanda in his regular column for Businessworld. In 2003, protests in 60 nations opposed the impending US invasion of Iraq. The protests did not prevent the costly war, but exposed the war’s flawed rationales. This year, protesters in more...

Chinese Policies Put Squeeze on the Banks

Steven M. Davidoff October 5, 2011
Whether US investment banks and private-equity firms can continue global financial domination depends on their success in Asia, particularly China, contends Steven M. Davidoff in the New York Times. Globalization was historically good for Wall Street’s financial firms, but now to prosper they must pursue business in Asia. He identifies a major shortcoming for US firms – not competing “at all for...

How to Stop a Second Great Depression

George Soros September 30, 2011
Confidence in the global economy is slipping, as wealthy nations fail to control debt and prevent growing fears over defaults and government bonds once assumed to be safe. In an essay for the Financial Times, financier and philanthropist George Soros urges three bold steps for Europe to allow orderly default by Greece, if necessary, and keep the global markets calm: create a common treasury for...

Europe Seeks to Free Itself From Rating Agencies' Grip

David Böcking July 8, 2011
Risk and creditworthiness of state debt are largely assessed by three major agencies based in the US. Nations rated low – due to low revenues, excessive borrowing or threat of default – pay high interest rates to borrow. As Greece and Portugal struggle to repay massive debt, facing steep downgrade by the agencies, European politicians renew calls for an independent credit-rating agency based in...

Playing Make-Believe With Greece

Floyd Norris July 4, 2011
Operating under the assumption that their economy is “too big to fail,” Greeks anticipate an infusion of new loans and are in no hurry to embrace austerity. Despite their role in failing to regulate the excessive lending, central bankers resist accountability for the crisis in Greece. Floyd Norris of the New York Times compares central and commercial bankers: Both loaned funds without adequately...

If You Thought the Bank Bailout Was Bad, Wait Until the Mortgage Defaults Hit Home

Morgan Kelly November 16, 2010
Ireland’s decision in September to borrow from the European Central Bank to repay €55 billion in bonds of bankrupt Irish banks calmed markets for the time being. The outcome satisfied large European banks that held the bonds, but left the Irish government with an open-ended commitment to cover losses amounting to more than 20 percent of GDP. Writing for the Irish Times, economist Morgan Kelly...

Reverse Coupling

Nayan Chanda October 11, 2010
As the economies of Brazil, India and China continue fast-paced growth, many economists mull whether they have decoupled from traditional Western markets mired in debt, unemployment and banking crises – and are perhaps even capable of boosting the developed world. Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal editor, examines two recent reports that examine decoupling trends between developed and developing nations:...