In The News

The World Bank's China Delusions

Weijan Shan September 29, 2006
The World Bank has suggested that substantial earnings by China firms, not debt, have fueled the nation’s growth. But that assumption could be wrong, argues a private-equity analyst, who examined the same data from the National Bureau of Statistics. Reported profits in China often include government subsides and are released before payment of income taxes, a rate of about 30 percent in the...

US Seeks Bigger China Role in IMF

Steven R. Weisman September 4, 2006
The old saying claims, If you can’t beat them, then join them. In a bid for cooperation, the Bush administration pushes for China and other developing nations to have more power in the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The institution with 184 member countries promotes financial and monetary stability, international trade and poverty reduction. Europe, which could lose voting shares, resists the...

Oil-Rich Russia Makes Ruble Convertible

Nick Paton Walsh July 5, 2006
Capitalizing on its growing status as a global energy supplier, Russia is making the ruble fully convertible in an attempt to renew its currency’s international status. The move will decrease the government’s control over the value of the ruble, opening the door for foreign investment in the currency. Riding dual waves of oil money and optimism, Russia is paying off its Soviet-era debts to the...

Surveillance Disclosure Denounced

Peter Baker June 29, 2006
US President George Bush denounces “The New York Times” for publishing an article concerning the president’s secret anti-terrorism program that involves access, unapproved by US Congress or the courts, to bank records from nearly 8,000 banks in more than 20 countries. The paper also broke news earlier this year about a government telephone-surveillance program. Supporters of such surveillance...

Why Dollar Hegemony Is Unhealthy

Thomas I. Palley June 20, 2006
The US dollar holds value for more countries than any other world currency and comprises about two thirds of world’s official foreign-exchange holdings. This dependence allows the US to run large trade deficits in purchasing a cornucopia of goods – from Porsches to t-shirts – by distributing paper IOUs in place of actual dollars. Because of a global faith in the voracious appetite of the US...

Globalization: It’s an Inflation-Busting Superhero

Neil Reynolds June 6, 2006
Individual choices contribute to the speed of globalization: World trade accounted for 10 percent of gross world product in 1960 to 30 percent today. Foreign visitors increased, from two per every 100 people in 1960 to 15 per 100 in 2005. More than one third of the world relies on cell phones, and a billion people use the internet. Over the past 30 years, inflation has also decreased, and it is...

Poland Averts Clash With Europe Over Italian Bank Deal

Mark Landler April 18, 2006
The Polish government has agreed to allow the Italian bank UniCredito to go forward with a deal to acquire two of Poland’s own banks. In return, UniCredito will sell nearly half of its new Polish bank branches, preserve and put out for bid a leading Polish bank brand name, and guarantee jobs for at least two years to its new Polish employees. Without these conditions, the deal would have...