In The News

Great Fall of China Sinks World Stocks, Dollar Tumbles

Marc Jones August 24, 2015
Global investors are panicking over a long anticipated economic slowdown in China. Hard hit in particular are commodities and companies that relied on market growth and suppliers in China. The result is an abrupt 9 percent drop in the China stock markets, a drop for the US dollar along with those of emerging economies, and volatility in global markets amid fears about a currency war and new...

Clouds Over China’s Solar Power Industry

Kieran Cooke August 19, 2015
Expansion of the solar-panel industry is under threat, reports Climate News Network, due to the rout in China’s stock market. “Seven out of the world’s top ten manufacturers of solar panels are China-based companies, together providing about 40% of global solar supplies,” reports Kieran Cooke. Some companies have lost half their share value and investors have pulled back. For the solar-panel...

Eurozone Strikes Greek Deal With Tough Conditions

Paul Taylor and Renee Maltezou July 13, 2015
Greece accepted tough conditions – tougher than those rejected by Greek voters in a referendum – in exchange for aid from fellow members of the Eurozone. Greek leaders must submit public policy proposals and spending plans to bailout monitors. Aid is contingent on Greece meeting “a tight timetable for enacting unpopular reforms of value added tax, pensions, budget cuts if Greece misses fiscal...

Government Had No Reason to Intervene in Stock Market Turbulence

Ling Huawei July 7, 2015
Interventions tried by the Chinese government to curb sharp declines in the country's stock markets are drawing unusually pointed criticism from analysts. “The bottom line is this: Only a systemic risk that threatens financial stability justifies a government bailout,” notes Ling Huawei for Caixin Online. “And the intervention raises a thorny question: Who takes the blame if the securities...

If Greece Defaults, Imagine Argentina, But Much Worse

James B. Stewart June 26, 2015
The best option for Greece is conceding on Europe’s demands for austerity, argues James B. Stewart for the New York Times, to avoid the economic havoc of Argentina, which has defaulted on debt multiple times. A Greek default would be worse than Argentina’s. Greece could expect a run on banks of a much higher magnitude and confusion over currency with a steep drop in purchasing power. Argentina’s...

Three Perilous Options for Greece Facing Europe

Gideon Rachman June 23, 2015
The Greek debt crisis may well destroy the European single currency, argues Financial Times columnist Gideon Rachman: Greece’s debts are immense, and no logical plan is in place for repayment or rapid reforms. If Greece remains in the EU, the nation would be a weak and struggling partner. More EU concessions for Greece would undermine governments in Ireland and Portugal that have endured...

HSBC’s Local Rethink Can’t Shore Up Global Act

Paul J. Davies June 10, 2015
The world has only a few global banks. HSBC, based in the UK, is cutting costs, laying off 50,000 or 10 percent of its workforce and eliminating units in emerging economies like Turkey and Brazil. “HSBC’s targeted returns are beaten by the best local banks in many countries,” writes Paul J. Davies for the Wall Street Journal. “HSBC insists the fight to remain global is worth it. It claims $22...