In The News

Great Fall of China Sinks World Stocks, Dollar Tumbles

Marc Jones August 24, 2015
Global investors are panicking over a long anticipated economic slowdown in China. Hard hit in particular are commodities and companies that relied on market growth and suppliers in China. The result is an abrupt 9 percent drop in the China stock markets, a drop for the US dollar along with those of emerging economies, and volatility in global markets amid fears about a currency war and new...

Devalued Yuan Seeks Reserve Currency Status

Will Hickey August 13, 2015
China is pushing for the renminbi to join the ranks of reserve currencies as designated by the International Monetary Fund. The IMF may delay such designation and gave a nod to China’s abrupt devaluation of the yuan, letting the unit respond to market forces. Reserve status for the yuan would be symbolic, a gesture acknowledging China’s weight in the global economy, argues Will Hickey. The United...

China’s Latest Currency Actions Are Market Driven

Nicholas R. Lardy August 13, 2015
China’s move to devalue its currency is “a potentially major step toward a more market-determined exchange rate,” argues Nicholas Lardy for China Economic Watch. The move unleashed a sell-off of global stocks, but is more likely tied to China’s efforts to promote the renminbi as a world reserve currency to the International Monetary Fund and less motivated by currency manipulation intended to...

Eurozone Strikes Greek Deal With Tough Conditions

Paul Taylor and Renee Maltezou July 13, 2015
Greece accepted tough conditions – tougher than those rejected by Greek voters in a referendum – in exchange for aid from fellow members of the Eurozone. Greek leaders must submit public policy proposals and spending plans to bailout monitors. Aid is contingent on Greece meeting “a tight timetable for enacting unpopular reforms of value added tax, pensions, budget cuts if Greece misses fiscal...

Greece’s Russian Fantasy; Russia’s European Delusion

Pavel K. Baev July 10, 2015
Greeks, well informed about their status as borrowers in advance with bank closures and limits on withdrawals, rejected foreign creditors’ conditions for aid in a referendum. “Many Greeks see Russia as a state that upholds its sovereignty and defies the EU diktat,” writes Pavel K. Baev for Brookings. Russia, sanctioned for its military interventions in Ukraine, has its own economic struggles with...

China’s Market Rout Is a Double Threat

Keith Bradsher and Chris Buckley July 10, 2015
China’s stock markets have bounced back, but the strong of losses may have dented investor confidence in the government’s ability to control those markets. The abrupt loss of Chinese shares’ value over the course of a few weeks, equal to six times Greece’s foreign debt, and a general downturn in the economy poses a threat to the global economy, report Keith Bradsher and Chris Buckley for the New...

Greece – A Mess With Consequences

David Dapice July 7, 2015
Greek voters have soundly rejected a set of reforms from the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund. The “no” vote may mark the beginning of Greece’s exit from the eurozone, and the uncertainty of what happens next comes at a bad time for the global economy, warns economist David Dapice. Economists can only speculate about the possible political and...