In The News

The EU as Last-Ditch Escape Artist

Jonathan Fenby April 1, 2013
Europe plays a dangerous game by tackling debt crises country by country. The latest economy to implode is a small nation that gained a reputation as an offshore banking center: Cypriot banks invested in Greek bonds and, after Greece imploded, required rescue – which comes at a cost. With deposits in Cypriot banks insured up to €100,000, holders of larger deposits may lose half their savings....

IMF Signals Push to Scrap Energy Subsidies

Robin Harding March 29, 2013
The globe could solve many fiscal woes by ending nearly $2 trillion in fuel subsidies, the International Monetary Fund claims. “The fund’s call suggests higher fuel prices could become a central condition of IMF help in the future, with subsidies proving a sticking point in its talks with countries such as Egypt, Pakistan and Ukraine,” reports Robin Harding for the Financial Times. The IMF lists...

Moscow’s Mysterious Move on Cyprus

Owen Matthews March 28, 2013
Russian deposits may account for about one third of Cypriot bank accounts worth more than €100,000, which could be frozen and taxed by up to 25 percent as part of a EU bailout deal. Russian President Vladmir Putin has denounced such methods for rescuing the Cypriot economy and “many non-Russian commentators agree with Putin that raiding private savings risks undermining confidence in Europe’s...

India’s Agriculture on the Brink

Deepak Gopinath March 27, 2013
Sound food policy should be a priority for India, on track for the world’s largest population by 2025. India has also achieved status as a major food exporter with rice, wheat and buffalo beef. Indian policies emphasize minimum support prices for farmers and subsidized crops for the poor, but these in turn spur food inflation, price volatility, overproduction of grains and overworked land. The...

Pakistan’s Army of Overseas Workers Keeps Economy Afloat

Khurrum Anis March 26, 2013
Inequality among nations encourages workers in poor nations to hunt for jobs abroad – and send funds home to families. Writing for Bloomberg, Khurrum Anis describes a young man dropping out of school and selling the family’s two buffalo to purchase a visa to work in Dubai so his family can build a new home and brothers can marry. “Almost 10 million Pakistanis work overseas and the sum they’ve...

Euro Crisis Poses Grave Dangers to EU Unity

Spiegel Staff March 26, 2013
During a banking crisis, political leaders try to maintain calm to prevent panic and a run on vulnerable banks that can’t possibly return deposits to customers all at once. But a bailout for EU member Cyprus could fracture the calm by even suggesting new precedents, especially early proposals to tap into all bank depositors’ savings accounts and ignore guaranteed protections on holdings up to €...

BRICS Not That Sturdy

Harsh V. Pant March 22, 2013
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa represent about 40 percent of the world’s population and nearly 25 percent of its economic output. Yet momentum of the organized grouping of strong emerging economies could be fading, suggests Harsh V. Pant of King’s College. A major challenge to potential clout of BRICS is China’s dominance: “China’s power makes the other members nervous, leading...