In The News

Europe Flood Losses to "Increase Fourfold" by 2050

Matt McGrath March 5, 2014
Forecasting models predict flood damage losses could increase fourfold for Europe by 2050. Governments are not engaging in adequate planning. “The scientists believe that the continent's annual flood costs may be 23.5bn euros by the middle of the century,” reports Matt McGrath for BBC News. “Two-thirds of the projected increase in flood damage will be caused by human development, not climate...

Romania: Chinese Are Coming!

Raluca Besliu March 4, 2014
Communist Romania, in 1949, was one of the first countries to recognize the communist People’s Republic of China. In 2007, Romania joined the European Union and has felt like a second-class member since – a market for European goods and services, but not a full partner. Prime Minister Victor Ponta is striving to demonstrate to Europe that Romania has alternatives by selling resources to China: “...

Leaked Records Reveal Offshore Holdings of China’s Elite

Marina Walker Guevara, Gerard Ryle, Alexa Olesen, Mar Cabra, Michael Hudson, Christoph Giesen January 23, 2014
A report from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists exposes secret offshore accounts among family members of high-ranking Chinese politicians and business leaders. The report is based on 2.5 million leaked files from two firms that assist with high-wealth trusts and banking. “As the country has moved from an insular communist system to a socialist/capitalist hybrid, China has...

Japan Eyes Commercial Prize as Abe Leads Visit to Africa

Javier Blas January 21, 2014
The world’s third largest economy is stepping up its foreign-policy game, with interest in Africa as a continent for commodities, markets and investments. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is leading a delegation to sub-Saharan Africa, and Japan joins India, Brazil and especially China in courting the continent’s leaders. “The top Japanese trading houses, or sogo shosha, have already started to pour...

America’s Role as Consumer of Last Resort Goes Missing

Simon Kennedy December 16, 2013
Household final consumption represents about 70 percent of US gross domestic product, yet “Cheaper fuel and raw materials are boosting manufacturing, making the U.S. more of a competitor to emerging-markets nations and less a reliable consumer of their goods,” reports Simon Kennedy for Bloomberg. The US recorded its lowest current-account deficit since 1999, assisted by new supplies of domestic...

Bo Xilai Conviction Will Do Little to Curb Corruption

Zhiwu Chen September 24, 2013
China’s officials discourage public debate about corruption, regarding it as criticism of Communist Party rule, yet some abuses of power can’t escape attention, notably those associated with Bo Xilai, the popular former party chief of Chongqing, who has received a life sentence for bribery. The trial avoided years of systematic abuses, and so far, President Xi Jinping is following old trends,...

China and the US Court Africa

Raluca Besliu August 1, 2013
Within two weeks of assuming power, China’s President Xi Jinping, visited Africa. US President Barack Obama’s recent visit, widely seen as an attempt to counter China’s growing influence on the continent. Many speculate on which power will prevail in what could be described as an African version of the Great Game. During his visit, Obama said that US investment would support local economies, not...