In The News

5 Market Axioms Lose Reliability: Financial Times

Mohamed El-Erian November 14, 2019
Systemic changes are underway in markets, and spreading nationalism may put economic globalization on pause. Allianz economist Mohamed El-Erian warns that investors cannot depend on globalization expanding markets and efficiency, emerging economies catching up with advanced economies, robust liquidity stabilizing markets, policies limiting economic downturns, or governance supporting the global...

Economic Toll of Climate Change: Axios

Courtenay Brown November 12, 2019
Substantial numbers of financiers and politicians are dismiss worries over climate change. Yet, “Top economists say the economic effects of climate change are just starting to be felt – and they're likely to start snowballing,” reports Courtenay Brown for Axios, who goes to explain how increasing wildfires, floods and natural disasters can disrupt the electrical grid, electronic payment and...

Four-Day Workweek Boosts Productivity: Japan Times

Kazuaki Nagata November 9, 2019
Companies could save money by trying a four-day workweek, sharpening employee focus while providing more time for home life. Microsoft tested a four-day workweek for one month in Japan and discovered that productivity increased among sales staff by 40 percent. The experiment did not reduce pay, and every Friday in August was a paid holiday. Management also asked workers to communicate more over...

Protests Engulf Lebanon: CNN

Tamara Qiblawi October 22, 2019
Thousands have turned out throughout Lebanon to protest an economy in decline. About 30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, and 30 percent of the people are also refugees. Public debt is high and young adults are abandoning the stagnant economy. The government has passed austerity measures, and fury erupted after a tax was proposed on voice over internet protocol calls on...

Missed Opportunities in Iraq: Wall Street Journal

Ghassan Adnan and Isabel Coles October 7, 2019
After years of Saddam Hussein's brutal dictatorship followed by a long war, Iraqis struggle with a poor economy with low job growth and corruption. The country is among the world’s top 10 oil-producing nations, and the government failed to distribute benefits two decades ago under Hussein and still fails today. Protesters are turning out in force, demanding jobs, improved living standards...

Beijing and Revenge on Hong Kong: Financial Times

Jamil Anderlini October 7, 2019
Hong Kong’s status as a vibrant financial center, a base for companies of all types, flourished under democracy. Democracy and fears about erosion of freedoms also fuels protests. Hong Kong, as a special administrative region of China, operates with a separate set of political processes, since 1997 through 2047. Increasing Chinese influence over Hong Kong, including expulsion of specific elected...

Argentina on Its Own: Buenos Aires Times

Marcel J. Garcia October 1, 2019
Argentina is experiencing political and economic turmoil, with high debt and inflation, and Argentinians remove savings from banks and avoid the peso. The International Monetary Fund indicates weariness with Argentina’s problems, suggests Marcel J. Garcia for Buenos Aires Times. Argentina represents nearly 60 percent of the IMF portfolio and global credit ratings agencies suggest the country is...