In The News

UK Faces Dire Shortages With Brexit: Reuters

Kate Holton and William James August 19, 2019
Trade has represented more than half of the United Kingdom’s GDP since 2005, reports the World Bank. Leaked government documents suggest that the country will contend with dire shortages of essential goods by leaving the European Union without a trade deal. Government officials suggest the country is preparing for the worst-case scenario. “Setting out a vision of jammed ports, public protests...

Trade War Helps China’s Belt and Road: China Brief

Chris Devonshire-Ellis August 15, 2019
The US delayed a round of tariffs scheduled for China September 1. “The simple truth is that China’s share of bilateral trade with Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries, coupled with increasing trade with ASEAN, is more than compensating for any US trade downturn,” explains Chris Devonshire-Ellis for China Briefing. China advises its firms to find substitute markets. Some market adjustments...

Crumbling Global Order: Wall Street Journal

Greg Ip August 14, 2019
Major shifts in world systems can result in global downturns, argues Greg Ip for the Wall Street Journal. This was the case for the end of the era of cheap oil but not the advent of the internet. Increasing resistance to globalization and open markets fueled by nationalism and populism – and a general decline in diplomacy with Brexit, the US-China and South Korea-Japan trade wars, divisions in...

The US Deficit Economy: Project Syndicate

Joseph E. Stiglitz August 12, 2019
The Trump administration is delivering shocks to the economy before experts can assess the consequences, suggests economist Joseph Stiglitz. All that is sure about the US economy is volatility and uncertainty. Reductions in the interest rate by the US Federal Reserve as central bank have little effect. “Long ago, John Maynard Keynes recognized that while a sudden tightening of monetary policy,...

Korea to Ban Stock Short-Selling: Korea Herald

Park Ga-young August 7, 2019
Stock exchanges of many nations imposed various bans on short-selling during and after the 2008-2009 global debt crisis. Investors expecting a stock to decline borrow shares – as a hedging strategy or speculation – and then resell these to buyers who pay the market price: Further decline results in profits for the first investor while a rise can result in huge losses, explains Investopedia. South...

China Produces Caviar: Quartz

Ephrat Livni August 7, 2019
China is leading the world in the highly regulated caviar industry. The term, once applied strictly to the roe from wild-caught sturgeon, is now loosely applied to eggs from multiple species of fish, whether caught in the wild or raised in aquaculture facilities. The delicacy originated in Russia and Turkey before spreading to Europe and the rest of the world, and in overfishing became a threat...

China's Central Bank Saves the Day: Forbes

Kenneth Rapoza August 6, 2019
A trade war and US tariffs have eroded the value of China’s currency. The US president announced tariffs and global stock markets declined. The US Treasury Department designated China as a currency manipulator, and China’s central bank announced removing about 30 billion yuan, or $4.2 billion, from the Hong Kong market. China denies the currency manipulation charge. “Many emerging market central...