In The News

The Economist: What If the Bitcoin Bubble Bursts?

June 14, 2017
Bitcoin is a digital currency with algorithms used for ownership and trades. Security depends on the secrecy of those algorithms. A purchase of $100 worth of bitcoin in July 2010 would be worth about $4.6 million today. Overall market value of such currencies is about $80 billion. An article from the Economist questions bitcoin’s sustainability and whether the currency is more like gold or 17th...

Deutsche Welle: Turkey's Referendum Result Could Scare Off Investors

Rolf Wenkel April 18, 2017
Turkish voters narrowly approved a referendum, by 51 percent, to replace its parliamentary system with a strong presidency. That could cement power for the current president over the next decade, though opposition leaders object to last-minute changes in voting procedures. Investors will watch closely how political leaders handle the transition as well as minorities, including Kurds who make up...

The Atlantic: All the President's Flip-Flops

David A. Graham April 13, 2017
The US president, in office for less than 100 days, has reversed course on multiple campaign promises, as listed by David Graham for the Atlantic. The “most visible reversal” is on Syria – with Donald Trump rejecting foreign intervention in Syria, even after a 2013 chemical attack, before the election and as president ordering missile attacks. Trump’s praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin...

The Weekly Standard: Of Debt and Detriment

Benn Steil and Emma Smith February 21, 2017
Macroeconomic theory predicts that indebted countries have negative net foreign investment income, while creditor countries have positive flows. The US and China, however, are bucking the trend due to the idiosyncratic natures of both their currencies and governments. One element is China’s willingness, and the world writ large, to accept low returns on the dollar in exchange for stability. About...

Foreign Companies Face New Clampdown for Getting Money Out of China

James T. Areddy and Lingling Wei December 8, 2016
China, less keen about the yuan becoming a global currency, abruptly applied a new limit for capital outflows. “China’s foreign-exchange regulator has instructed banks to sharply limit how much companies move out of the country and into their other operations around the world,” report James T. Areddy and Lingling Wei for the Wall Street Journal. “The recent moves effectively erode the yuan’s...

India to Replace Largest Bank Notes

Raymond Zhong November 10, 2016
Governments combat counterfeiting and tax evasion by eliminating big bills in circulation and imposing frequent design changes for currency. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprised citizens with news that its 500- and 1000-rupee banknotes would cease being legal tender the following day. The notes – representing more than 80 percent of the currency in circulation as of March – can be...

Asia Needs to Spell Out Changes They Want in International Monetary System

Barry Eichengreen October 31, 2016
The International Monetary Fund contributes to stabilizing the monetary system, reducing imbalances and providing emergency assistance as needed. Yet many Asian nations resist borrowing from the IMF and a regional arrangement for Asia has yet to be activated, writes Barry Eichengreen for Caixin. He urges critics to be specific on needed reforms: “Do they require further changes in the composition...