In The News

India’s Digital Revolution Poised to Propel Services

Nandan Nilekani July 26, 2016
India is poised to revolutionize the service industry, in such a way that borrowing, saving and transferring money could happen as swiftly as sending an email. This technological leap enables India to rely more on services and domestic consumption even as world trade is slumping. A nationwide government initiative encouraging financial inclusion and bank accounts, combined with biometric-based...

American Capitalism’s Great Crisis

Rana Foroohar June 8, 2016
Young Americans no longer perceive benefits from capitalism, and such sentiments will influence the outcome of the US presidential election. The system of US market capitalism is broken, explains Rana Foroohar, author and Time magazine’s assistant managing editor for economics and business. Only about 15 percent of wealth from individual and corporate savings is invested in businesses for adding...

New Attack Reported by Swift Global Bank Network

Michael Corkery May 13, 2016
Technology has allowed banks to expand into behemoths and the assets of some number in the trillions. Thieves are using banking technology to conduct online bank robberies. “Thieves have again found their way into what was thought to be the most secure financial messaging system in the world and stolen money from a bank,” reports Michael Corkery for the New York Times. Swift, or Society for...

The $2 Trillion Project to Get Saudi Arabia’s Economy Off Oil

Peter Waldman April 26, 2016
Saudi Arabia possesses about 20 percent of the world’s proven petroleum reserves is among the world’s largest exporters, reports OPEC. The oil and gas sector accounts for about half the country’s gross domestic product and almost 90 percent of the state budget, but a slump in oil prices has spurred the kingdom to reduce dependence on oil and act on diversifying the economy. Deputy Crown Prince...

Economic Ramifications of Remittances-for-Border Wall Proposal

Susanna Kim April 5, 2016
A US presidential candidate has proposed blocking workers from sending remittances to their families and canceling visas to force Mexico to build a wall along the shared border. Policy analysts quickly responded that a plan to block such money transfers would harm both economies and may violate laws. Aaron Klein, Brookings Institution fellow, in a report by Susanna Kim for ABC News, explained...

Panama Papers: Leaks Spur Global Investigations

April 4, 2016
Investing funds in offshore accounts is not necessarily illegal, but avoiding taxes is a violation of local and national laws. “Eleven million documents were leaked from the secretive Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca,” reports BBC News. “They show how the company has helped some clients launder money, dodge sanctions and avoid tax.” The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists...

Central Banks Are Already Doing the Unthinkable - You Just Don't Know It

Mehreen Khan March 21, 2016
International Monetary Fund staff have called the past eight years an “era of extraordinary monetary policy,” with central banks applying more than 600 interest-rate cuts since 2008. “But the new wave of policy accommodation has ushered in fresh panic that monetary policy is suddenly subject to dwindling returns,” explains Mehreen Khan for the Telegraph. The focus on debt and limited spending...