In The News

Bank of Japan Stuns Global Markets by Announcing Negative Interest Rates

David Scutt January 29, 2016
The Bank of Japan narrowly approved a three-tiered system on rates including one in the negative territory, -0.1 percent for “excess reserves parked at the bank by financial institutions,” reports David Scutt for Business Insider Australia.The move essentially encourages lending and charges banks for storing cash. The central bank also announced further rate cuts may be issued as needed. “The BOJ...

How to Make Sense of Plummeting Global Markets

Neil Irwin January 21, 2016
The globe economy is in “reasonably solid state,” according to most leading forecasts as reported by the New York Times. Yet market “volatility and direction are consistent with the prospect of a new crisis or global recession, explains Neil Irwin. The evidence does not yet indicate whether such levels of market turbulence are rational or irrational, he explains, with the S&P 500 falling 9...

Irredeemable?

January 8, 2016
By the end of 2016, Brazil’s economy may be 8 percent smaller than it was during the first quarter of 2014, reports the Economist. Commodity prices are slumping, and GDP could shrink by a fifth. Some call for the president’s impeachment; legislators are under investigation for accepting bribes related to contracts with the state-controlled oil-and-gas company, Petrobras. The Economist describes...

The World Wary as US Federal Reserve Declares End to Debt Crisis

Chris Miller January 5, 2016
Central banks around the globe responded to the 2007-2008 global debt crisis by reducing interest rates and loosening monetary policy to encourage consumer spending, investment, employment and price stability. After seven years the US Federal Reserve lifted interest rates in December and signaled the possibility of gradual rate hikes, a move described by Chairwoman Janet Yellen as a process of “...

Treasuries Extend Global-Debt Rally on China, US Growth Worry

Ari Altstedter and Allison McNeely January 5, 2016
Investors seek secure havens for their savings and governments continue to issue debt. Manufacturing continues to decline in both the United States and China, adding to a surplus in oil stocks, and analysts suggest the news from China followed by a halt in trading prompted a steep decline in global stock prices. “The Treasury rally goes against the consensus that yields will rise in 2016 with...

Fears Grow Over Increased Antibiotic Resistance

October 16, 2015
Many antibiotics kill bacteria indiscriminately, including those causing disease and those that aid with digestion or immunity. Overuse of the drugs in health care and farm animals has increased antibiotic resistance and could contribute to thousands of deaths each year among patients having colorectal surgery, chemotherapy or hip replacements. Researchers have found that “as many as half of all...

Crunchtime for Global Tax-Avoidance Push

Paul Hannon September 29, 2015
Multinational corporations earn revenues in wealthy markets but file income reports from off-shore financial hubs. The Organization of Economic Development and Cooperation is working with representatives of near 50 countries on a new set of rules to prevent multinational corporations from dodging tax payments. “If the rules work as planned, they will help ensure big companies pay tax on profits...