In The News

Decoupling Demystified

Nayan Chanda February 8, 2008
Reality always trumps theory. Nayan Chanda points out that this was seen when aftershocks from the American stockmarket meltdown put to rest the theory of ‘decoupling’. The stockmarket jitters that ran from Tokyo to Shanghai to Mumbai shows that Asian growth is very much linked, further proving that in a globalized world, you can run, but cannot hide. – YaleGlobal

Buyers, Not Savers, Caused America’s Deficit

Richard Duncan February 5, 2008
Financial analysts scrutinize Alan Greenspan’s 2007 autobiography, “The Age of Turbulence,” for any clues about the current economic downturn. Analyst and author Richard Duncan takes issue with the chapter in Greenspan’s book on current accounts and debt, noting that that the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve argues, “High savings and unattractive investments at home, occurring at a time...

A Fear That the Cure Could Be Poison

Edmund L. Andrews February 1, 2008
Central banks like the US Federal Reserve raise interest rates to slow an economy and lower them to stimulate it. But economists admit that a complex global economy, with transactions moving at rapid pace, complicates their task. Economist must wait for data to come in long after an economy reacts to events. For example, economists are yet uncertain about whether or not a recession is underway in...

The Battle for Food, Oil and Water

Gideon Rachman January 30, 2008
Uncertainty pervades the global economy, and the world’s most powerful leaders, bankers and industrialists admit that the complexities of the global financial system present many unknowns. As bankers study the financial connections, politicians examine the challenges confronting the world’s poorest people, including shortages and rising costs of water, food and energy. Population growth...
January 28, 2008
Corporate boards reflect the values of a company and their national culture. Although multiple forces pressure firms around the globe to follow the US-model of corporate governance, divergent styles do emerge and challenge the status quo. Major institutional investors have long invested in US markets and appreciated strong regulations on how companies audit and organize their boards. Those huge...

Next Stop Asia

January 24, 2008
With Asia’s emerging economies posting spectacular growth, Asian investors had hoped that a US recession would cause little concern for their economies. But then global stock markets took a big tumble. World markets are connected, but that does not mean a recession in one part of the world will necessarily devastate another part. Some Asian markets are more vulnerable than others, reminds this...

Globalization and the Markets – Part I

David Dapice January 22, 2008
Stock-market indexes have tumbled like dominos around the globe, exposing vulnerability of intricate economic connections. A crisis in one nation – and the panic – can quickly bounce from one country to the next. A major cause behind the stock-market plunges the world over are US financial instruments designed to spread and protect risk by including all manner of home mortgages, explains...