In The News

China and the US: Two Visions, One Collaboration?

Marc Grossman November 15, 2016
Donald Trump promised during the US presidential campaign to be tough on trade with China, suggesting he would label the country a currency manipulator and impose tariffs unless trade agreements were renegotiated. Trade is likewise threatened with China’s expansive claims and military buildup in the South China Sea. But the world’s two largest economies have reason to cooperate in Asia, argues...

Abe to Seek Cuba’s Help Over North Korea and Boost Trade

Ayako Mie September 21, 2016
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is making an unprecedented trip to Cuba off the heels of North Korea’s fifth nuclear test and the UN General Assembly. Cuba has been an ally of North Korea, while Japan and North Korea have strained relations due to the abduction of Japanese citizens and the potential for a close-range nuclear attack. Increased investment in Cuba reflects a larger pattern in...

US Economy: Citizenship for Sale

Kara Scannell September 14, 2016
US cities like Miami are using the EB-5 visa to attract wealthy investors. The program was designed to promote development in areas of need, but Kara Scannell of the Financial Times describes luxury office towers, hotels and retail complexes. “For a $500,000 investment in a project that creates at least 10 jobs in a high-unemployment area, a foreign national can eventually receive a green card...

6 X-Factor Risks Keeping Fund Managers, Investors Up at Night

Marcus Padley May 27, 2016
Global fund managers responding to a monthly Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey identify and rank risks that could cause an abrupt and abnormal drop in global markets. Britain’s possible exit from the European Union tops the list for May. Second, an ongoing concern is the risk of devaluation and defaults in China. Another ongoing concern is quantitative failure, “that trillions of dollars...

E-Commerce and Crowdfunding: Why Are They the Same in China?

Julien Legrand May 20, 2016
Small startups in China struggle to find funding, and many entrepreneurs rely on numerous crowdfunding platforms, explains Julien Legrand for ParisTech Review. “China counts 650 million netizens, accessing the Internet mostly via smartphones (86% of Internet usage), on which many have electronic money,” he writes. “Household savings are huge – about US$4.6 trillion – and Chinese are increasingly...

Fighting the Next Global Financial Crisis

Robert J. Shiller May 18, 2016
Investors hunt for news from many sources and assess the reliability. Investor attention can focus on surprising trends, and regulators must adapt to shifting narratives and moods, explains Robert Shiller, Yale economics professor and the 2013 Nobel laureate in economics. Shiller details the history of money-market funds and the threat of mass withdrawals during the 2008 global financial crisis....

Managing Debt in an Overleveraged World

Michael Spence April 29, 2016
Debt still threatens the global economy. Debt as an investment in the future, delivering high yields or serving a long-term purpose is not necessarily a problem, notes economist Michael Spence for Project Syndicate. He reviews the risks: high levels of household and individual debt are more problematic than corporate or government debt; slowing growth without inflation could increase defaults;...