In The News

The Bonds Of Debt

Nayan Chanda November 24, 2009
President Obama’s first visit to China has understandably drawn wide attention. Observers have scrutinized the visit – from the symbolic town hall meeting to the unprecedentedly detailed Joint Statement – trying to gauge the extent of cooperation between the two countries. On the face of it, China clearly enjoys some advantage over the US. It is the largest foreign creditor to the US and is...

Down But Not Out

Krishna Guha October 21, 2009
With the US caught in a deep recession and mired in deepening debt, the status of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency is in question. Should these questions appear warranted, a crisis of confidence could create a “self-propelling spiral” weakening the dollar further. And if the dollar were to plummet, intervention by not only the US, but also other economies could be the response. But...

US, The New Saver

Nayan Chanda October 14, 2009
The recent bleak unemployment report for the US suggests that the economic recovery is likely to be W-, rather than, V-shaped. But the 9.8 percent unemployment rate is only part of the picture: when including the “underemployed”, the rate is roughly double. What this means is that the US isn’t going to be consuming that much during what is normally the biggest spending period of the year –...

The Demise of the Dollar

Robert Fisk October 6, 2009
Veteran Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk reports that “secret meetings” between Russia, China, Japan, Brazil and some Arab States have occurred to discuss the possibility of pricing a barrel of oil in a basket of currencies rather than US dollars. Some believe such a development, if true, might ignite a new economic war between the US and China, which consumes more oil than the US on the...

No Walls In This Street

Nayan Chanda August 31, 2009
One of the greatest fears facing the world as it entered the financial crisis a year ago was the potential aftermath of protectionism in the form of rising trade barriers. But, while many cited the beggar-thy-neighbor policies that spawned the Great Depression as the next shoe to drop, these prognostications largely did not come to pass. True, there have been some “Buy [place country here]”...

Globalization – A Setback

Fahed Fanek August 28, 2009
Globalization, once hailed as the solution for economies seeking to grow through free-markets, has suffered a setback in the current crisis. Many countries have enacted inward-looking policies that threaten to reverse globalization or foster protectionism. Meanwhile, some countries less open to the world seem to have weathered the storm better than the rest, challenging the notion of the benefits...

US-China Duopoly Is a Pipedream

Christopher M. Clarke August 6, 2009
New terms like ‘Chimerica’ and G2 coined in recent years, describing ties between China and the US have acquired new currency as the world sought a way out of the global financial crisis. With China taking the spotlight during the G20 meeting in London and senior Chinese and American officials recently meeting for a Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Washington, there is hope that working...