In The News

The IMF’s Next Mission?

Harold James January 10, 2008
With imbalances threatening ongoing disruption to the global economy, Harold James, history and international relations professor at Princeton University, proposes a new task for the International Monetary Fund. In the past, the IMF has served as a crisis manager for global economic problems, and James proposes that the IMF assist nations with massive sovereign funds. China has $1 trillion in...

An Empowered Middle East – Part I

Pranay Gupte January 10, 2008
President George Bush’s trip to the Middle East comes at a time when Iraq is stabilizing and the oil-producing countries’ fortune is rising. Bush will visit Israel and Saudi Arabia, also making stops in Palestine, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirate and Egypt, perhaps even Iraq and Lebanon. Along the way he’ll witness results of US foreign policy – diplomacy, intervention and some neglect. A...

Common Currency Caveat

Eckart Woertz December 12, 2007
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was established in 1981 by Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE, with all agreeing to some common objectives based on their Islamic beliefs in trade, security, agriculture and investment. Plans include uniting around a common market in 2008, which will “move beyond the free movement of goods and services that has been agreed upon in the GCC customs...

A Queue in the Sand

Stanley Reed December 7, 2007
The Middle East is rich with oil money, ready to invest in all kinds of megadeals, reports BusinessWeek. For example, state-owned Abu Dhabi Investment Authority stepped forward to buy a $7.5 billion stake in Citigroup, a bank ailing from the US sub-prime mortgage crisis. Some borrowers purchased homes with loans that offered low rates for only a year or two; as the rates increase, the homeowners...

The Battle of Beijing

Moisés Naím November 26, 2007
China is intent on using the 2008 Olympics as a stage to display the strength of its culture, organized political system and rising economic power. Activists on a range of issues, particularly human rights, are equally earnest, planning to use the Olympics as a platform for exposing flaws of China’s one-party authoritarian regime. State-of-the-art technology common among tourists – including cell...

Visit Africa. Bring Checkbook.

Jonathan Power November 15, 2007
The West has viewed Africa as an undifferentiated mess of war, disease, corruption and poverty for some time. The International Monetary Fund, however, estimates that sub-Saharan will grow at 7 percent in 2008, largely due to investment by Chinese and Indian companies. US and European experts are divided about Asian influence in Africa, whether India and China engage in mutually beneficial...

The Dollar in Danger

Sebastian Mallaby November 14, 2007
Overseas investors are skittish about investing in the US, in light of the recent sub-prime mortgage defaults. The US government functions by taking on debt. But as foreign investors resist investing in low-yield government notes and similar instruments described as low risk, the dollar sinks in value. The value of many currencies and commodities, including oil, are linked to the dollar. So many...