In The News

Seeds of a Modern Economic Empire

Nayan Chanda November 12, 2014
China is the world’s second largest economic power but lacks comparable voting power in the International Monetary Fund, which bases quotas mostly on GDP but also on openness, economic variability and international reserves. So China is throwing support behind another institution: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB, could “place China at the hub of a gigantic trade and economic web...

Russia: Friction With the West, New Ties With the East

Laurence Neville September 23, 2014
After stalled reforms, intervention in Ukraine and an alleged role in shooting down a Malaysian passenger jet, Russia has lost international goodwill. So like the United States, Russia is conducting its own pivot to Asia: “Rather than retreating from globalization, Russia, some think, is instead redefining it. Russia is choosing to look east rather than west,” suggests Laurence Neville for Global...

Internet Power Balance Tilts Toward Asia

Eva Duo, Juro Osawa and Wayne Ma September 22, 2014
The initial public offering from Alibaba Group Holding, Ltd., China’s largest e-commerce company, demonstrates a shift of technological and market dominance towards Asia, suggests an article in the Wall Street Journal. With Alibaba hitting the market, four of the top 10 most highly valued web companies in the world are based in Asia, the others being Baidu, JD.com and Tencent Holdings. Nearly...

Argentina Default Flashes Warning to Emerging Markets

Will Hickey September 9, 2014
Argentina, among the world’s top 25 economies, is trying to seek relief with bondholders and avoid being locked out of international credit markets. A US judge has sided with a minority of bondholders led by a US billionaire, blocking payments to the 90 percent who agreed to restructuring. For now, despite the judge’s ruling that all or none of the bondholders be paid, Argentina explores debt...

Washington and the Argentine Default

R. Viswanathan August 29, 2014
Argentina wants to pay bondholders who agreed to a restructuring settlement and withhold full payment to a few holdouts, but a US judge ruled that all or none must be paid. “Argentina has now taken the matter to the International Court of Justice, complaining that the decision of the U.S. judiciary is arbitrary, abusive, and beyond its jurisdiction besides ignoring the sovereign immunity of...

Is the United States In or Out on Globalization?

Edward J. Reilly August 28, 2014
US political leaders are fretting about the need for tax reform as US companies purchase partners in tax-friendly countries, relocating their headquarters and tax base. The latest example is Burger King’s proposal to purchase Tim Hortons restaurant chain, based in Canada. The United States may be ambivalent on globalization, but there is no turning back, argues strategic communications consultant...

Trans-Afghan Pipeline Initiative: No Pipe Dream

Marc Grossman August 28, 2014
Despite a stream of bad news, development plans are underway even among nations with adversarial relations. Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan and India signed an agreement in early July to move forward with a 1,700-kilometer natural gas pipeline. “This $7.5 billion project known as TAPI, or the Trans-Afghan Pipeline Initiative, has the potential to catalyze investment and trading opportunities...