In The News

European Union Divided Over Greek Bailout

Chris Miller April 16, 2015
Fervent democracy at the national level is hampering monetary policymaking for the broader European Union in bringing quick end to the Greek debt crisis, explains Chris Miller, a Yale doctoral candidate and research associate at the Hoover Institution. Greek voters resent austerity measures imposed by the rest of Europe led by Germany, yet polls show that two thirds prefer staying in the eurozone...

Grading Abenomics: It’s a C-

Edward J. Lincoln February 10, 2015
Abenomics – economic policies of quantitative easing, fiscal stimulus and structural reforms with deregulation – has been in play for two years since Shinzo Abe once again became prime minister of the world’s third largest economy. Economist and author Edward J. Lincoln suggests that Abenomics is not producing rapid improvements. Quantitative easing has shown results with modest gains in bank...

Global Rate-Cutting Frenzy Could Freeze US Economic Recovery

David Parkinson February 6, 2015
Central banks around the globe, including those in Canada and Australia, continue to reduce interest rates, pump more money into their economies and reduce the value of their currencies to strengthen exports. “Countries appear to be lowering rates at least in part to discourage investors from buying their currency, as they jockey for position with trading partners doing the same,” reports David...

European Union Tries Rebooting the Economy

Joergen Oerstroem Moeller January 27, 2015
The European Central Bank announced dramatic expansion of its monetary stimulus plan to purchase asset-backed securities and bonds through September 2016 for a total of at least €1 trillion On the surface, the move has similarities to US stimulus measures in play since late 2008, with the US Federal Reserve purchasing billions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities, bank debt and treasury notes...

Central Bank Prophet Fears QE Warfare Pushing World Financial System Out of Control

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard January 23, 2015
To escape lingering economic malaise, the European Central Bank announced plans to engage in stimulus spending by printing euros to purchase an array of bonds – €60 billion each month at least through September 2016 for a total of at least €1 trillion. The proposal was double what analysts had expected. The rescue comes late amid currency wars and efforts by other central banks to keep bank...

Chinese Stocks Plummet 8 Percent

Scott Cendrowski January 19, 2015
Chinese regulators suspended three large brokerage firms from extending margin accounts – essentially loans – for new clients for three months, and that led the Shanghai market index to plummet by more than 7 percent, the biggest drop in six years, reports Fortune. “The regulator also punished nine different brokerages for allowing unqualified traders to open leveraged accounts, Xinhua reported,...

Bracing for Stagnation

Raghuram Rajan January 14, 2015
The United States may be enjoying economic recovery, but stagnant wages and widening inequality suggest that those few glimmers will not sustain the global economy. Worries run high about feeble economic growth and deflation. In an article for Project Syndicate, reprinted by Live Mint, Raghuram Rajan, governor of the Reserve Bank of India, lists the problems and underlying causes of the “new...