In The News

Singapore's “Chinese Dilemma” as China Rises

Wang Gungwu June 12, 2015
Neighboring states assess the costs and benefits of a fast-rising China for their own economies and security relationships. “Singapore needs to have a realistic assessment of China's intentions, America's resolve, and the place of Asean and Singapore in the region, in order to chart its course in the geopolitical future world,” writes historian Wang Gungwu for Straits Times. China’s...

How Politics Will Seal the Fate of Greece

Philip Stephen May 25, 2015
The crisis in Greece increasingly centers around politics even as the economy continues to struggle, frustrating other members of the European Union and contributing to uncertainty for global investors. Many investors and politicians are planning for how they might proceed should Greece leave the European Union. Writing for the Financial Times, Philip Stephen notes: “the rest of the eurozone has...

Economic Policy Turned Inside Out

Stephen S. Roach May 4, 2015
Unsustainable economic imbalances combined with financial engineering to reduce interest rates and currency values, could threaten the global economy, suggests economist Stephen S. Roach, a senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute of Global Affairs. The essay focuses on Japan’s struggle since 1985 to revive its economy by relying on monetary policy. In 2002, the US Federal Reserve...

Indonesia’s Joko Loses the Economic Plot

April 24, 2015
President Joko Widodo had campaigned with promises of economic reform and shared prosperity for Indonesians, yet the business community is concerned about a new wave of protectionist policies. The Asia Sentinel suggests that recent government policies contrast with a message relayed at a recent international conference that Indonesia welcomes foreign investment. “From moves to force banks and...

Seeking Business, Cuomo Heads to Cuba With a New York Trade Delegation

Susanne Craig April 23, 2015
The announcement of plans to remove Cuba from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism unleashed a flood of business interest. US Congress must approve lifting the full trade embargo, and business leaders could apply pressure to politicians who have long benefited from the divisions. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo wasted no time, leading a 26-hour trip to Cuba with business leaders from JetBlue...

High Debt and Low Oil Prices Threaten Canada’s Globalized Economy

Vikram Mansharamani April 20, 2015
The world’s 11th largest economy does not rank among the world’s 30 most populous countries. Despite handily managing the global debt crisis after 2007, Canada’s economy is vulnerable. Volatility brought by globalization and interdependency may bear part of the blame, explains Vikram Mansharamani, a Yale lecturer and senior fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the...

The Global Economy’s Bizarre Problem: Too Much Money

Matt Phillips April 16, 2015
After global recession struck in 2008, the US injected money into the economy to reduce interest rates and encourage lending. The US effort was described as successful and Japan and Europe soon followed. Overall, the global economy is still sluggish, economic uncertainty lingers. Companies, normally competitive, hesitate to expand or invest in research. Individual and corporate investors compete...