In The News

West Loses Appeal for FDI: Wall Street Journal

Tom Fairless and Paul Hannon July 23, 2019
Populist rhetoric, heightened security reviews and global tensions contribute to reduced foreign investment in the West, report Tom Fairless and Paul Hannon for the Wall Street Journal. Foreign investment in the United States fell by 9 percent and 30 percent in Germany. The writers point out that FDI data is volatile, easily distorted by a small number of large transactions. Still, UN statistics...

Dollar Strength Not Born in the US: Financial Times

Bhanu Baweja July 18, 2019
The US dollar remains strong despite declining growth and bond yields in the United States and the world. Global markets may have more control than the US government over the value of the dollar. “Faced with weak growth in the rest of the world, investors gravitate to US bonds and defensive equities, and the dollar strengthens,” explains Bhanu Baweja for Financial Times. The Trump...

Global Recession on Way: South China Morning Post

Anthony Rowley June 14, 2019
With trade tensions, increased protectionism and major economies in no mood to cooperate, global recession is inevitable and possibly even reach crisis levels. Monetary easing or fiscal stimulus may not be effective if countries are intent on isolation. Global trade growth is at its slowest and Anthony Rowley compares current economic troubles with previous recessions: “The renewed slowdown in...

G-20 and Taxation Rules for Digital Giants: Kyodo

June 7, 2019
The world’s major economies agreed in a draft statement to accelerate tax collection from multinational digital companies like Google and Facebook. “The G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors will also warn that the world economy continues to face downside risks from trade conflicts between leading economies, while calling for accommodative monetary policy to ensure the economy is...

Australia’s China Challenge: New York Times

Damien Cave May 26, 2019
The Chinese government, under President Xi Jinping, has expanded its covert sphere of influence in countries like Australia. China relies on the substantial ethnic Chinese population and Chinese economic ties representing 24 percent of Australian imports and exports to push its agenda within Australia with a say on the nation’s foreign trade policy. Beijing has weaponized economics, and Chinese...

Hate Globalization? Embrace Stagnation: Bloomberg

Noah Smith May 22, 2019
Productivity growth is slowing down in the United States, part of a global trend, reports Noah Smith for Bloomberg. Comparing how much workers produce across countries is difficult because of variances in data reporting. Economists have long credited technological and organizational changes for rising productivity, but Smith suggests reduced globalization may also be a factor. “From 1993 to 2008...

Xi’s Risky Power Play: Democracy

Manfred Elfstrom April 29, 2019
Western democracies struggle to deal with a rising China amid new policies on trade, security and cultural outreach. Manfred Elfstrom reviews trends including concentration of political power with increased oversight and demands for absolute loyalty; reduced emphasis and delays on domestic reforms, including work conditions or the social safety net; and attempts to contain grassroots efforts to...