In The News

India Tries Using Cash Bonuses to Slow Birthrates

Jim Yardley August 23, 2010
India is the second most populous nation in the world, expected to overtake China in the next decade. Analysts study the two neighbor nations for how political systems and population policies contribute to growth or economic wealth: Nations with low fertility rates are generally wealthier, while younger populations are described as more productive. Fertility rates, varying throughout India, are...

The Erosion of America's Middle Class

Thomas Schulz August 20, 2010
An increasing divide between rich and poor limits US consumer spending, contributing to an economic slowdown around the globe. The world’s richest nation continues a downward spiral with foreclosures, joblessness and hunger. The current tax system, along with ongoing pleas to reduce taxes further, directly benefits the wealthiest while dismantling public services that secure the middle class –...

China Overtakes US as World's Biggest Energy Consumer

Jonathan Watts August 12, 2010
China has surpassed the US in energy usage, making it the world’s biggest energy consumer. The International Energy Agency, based in France, reported that the nation’s use of coal, oil, wind and other sources of energy reached the equivalent of 2.26 billion tons of oil in 2009, nearly double its usage a decade ago. This surge has implications for the global market, including stress on the...

Speculators Rediscover Agricultural Commodities

Susanne Amann, Alexander Jung August 11, 2010
The strategy is as ancient as trade: A speculator corners the market of a choice product, reduces supply and then profits on climbing prices. The best source for profits is indispensable products – like energy, housing or food. A London hedge fund now controls about 7 percent of the world’s cocoa production, bringing cocoa prices to 33-year high, reports Spiegel Online. “The turbulence in the...

Tax on Commodity Profits Could Postpone Scarcity

Joergen Oerstroem Moeller August 10, 2010
Few global citizens, let alone their political leaders, have yet to recognize a shifting economy underway from an era of plenty to an era of scarcity. For two centuries, resource-rich nations focused on job creation; downward pressure on commodity prices including oil, gas and minerals ensued. Emerging economies, particularly those of China and India, rapidly increase global demand. In the run-up...

Retailers Pay More to Get Cargo (No Guarantee)

Stephanie Clifford August 6, 2010
Shoppers may not find fully decked shelves in upcoming holiday seasons. Retailers in the US and Europe struggle with shipping schedules, competing for limited space for products made overseas. Emerging economies have also increased demand of containers for shipping. To receive shipments in a timely manner, retailers pay up to triple the prices from a year ago. With the global recession, retailers...

The World Economy Needs Balancing, But How?

David Dapice August 3, 2010
Many nations seek economic relief by promoting exports. But a trade system built on all exports and no imports is an impossible feat to achieve. To lift economies from recession's mire, nations pursue, among other things, domestic rebalancing by curtailing unsustainable, wasteful spending and the borrowing that triggered the global downturn. On the other hand, the target markets for much of...