In The News

In Toyota City, Japan, the Good Times Rolled…Away

John M. Glionna March 25, 2009
Many analysts predicted problems with excessive debt and sub-prime mortgages in the US, but few expected that the woes would rapidly spill over into the world’s most successful companies. The global economic recession hits hard at company towns like Toyota City in Japan: “Unlike in Detroit, where years of steady decline preceded the current financial crisis, Toyota City's fortunes went from...

China Takes Aim at Dollar

Andrew Batson March 25, 2009
China has proposed that a new currency gradually replace the US dollar as the world standard, reports the Wall Street Journal. The proposal from Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of People’s Bank of China, could reflect a desire to straighten out global finances and frustration over dependence on the US – as well as a warning about Chinese impatience over funding immense US debt. China has $2 trillion in...

Why Europe and the US Disagree on Stimulus

Jack Ewing March 24, 2009
In a world of so many imbalances – some nations slotted as spenders, others as savers, some with more social welfare than others – a BusinessWeek article suggests that global coordination, or rather an overall blanket solution, may not work for the ongoing global crisis, particularly when it comes to spending. Some Europeans express concern that “massive public spending could revive fears of...

No One Model for New Global Economy

Yoichi Funabashi March 23, 2009
As the global crisis deepens and countries seek different ways out, devising new global economic institutions would do little to restore confidence. Instead, the institutions in place – the International Monetary Fund, the Bretton Woods system on exchange rates and the World Bank – should take immediate steps to incorporate a rising Asia into their systems of global governance. Otherwise the...

World Economy: What Went Wrong

March 23, 2009
The IMF concludes that a lack of regulation – not global imbalances – led to crisis, and “the distinction has important consequences for whether macroeconomic policy or more regulation of financial markets will provide the solutions to the mess,” reports the Economist. Economists examine the root causes, comparing problems to previous crises to develop solutions and prevent repeats. “The IMF...

The Road Not Taken

March 20, 2009
The ability of workers to move for jobs, both inside a country and out, promotes business flexibility, the best use of skills and individual prosperity. But home ownership and a lack of universal health insurance have reduced mobility in the US, reports the Economist. People typically escape bad circumstances by moving to new locations, but Americans are trapped in overpriced homes and fear...

Meltdown Is Causing a Crisis of Confidence in Globalization

Ian Verrender March 20, 2009
Doubts about global connections have emerged in every country, even those that have benefited most from globalization. Recessions, job loss and vanishing savings are not new, but this global crisis struck swiftly, sparing no nation. Many governments look inward, observes Ian Verrender, in the Sydney Morning Herald, and seek to contain their own benefits and restricting any pain from others. “It...