In The News

Two Faces of Global Trade

Nayan Chanda August 30, 2016
A steel glut in China – due to stimulus funding and weak economic recovery since 2007 – has led to a trade war. China controls half the world’s steel production, and the United States, Europe and others have responded with new duties on steel imports. “Cut-price steel causing unemployment has emerged as a lightning rod for discontent about globalization,” explains Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal...

Apple Must Pay Billions for Tax Breaks in Ireland, EU Orders

James Kanter and Mark Scott August 30, 2016
Countries go to great lengths to attract jobs to their shores, and companies do the same to avoid taxes. The European Commission has ordered Apple, the world’s largest company in terms of market value, to pay €13 billion in back taxes and argues that Ireland’s tax incentives extend an unfair advantage. Apple assigned profits of Irish subsidiaries to a “head office” to reduce taxes, report James...

Scramble in the Horn

James Jeffrey August 24, 2016
Landlocked Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country with more than 96 million people. Conflict lingers between Ethiopia and Eritrea since the latter obtained independence in 1993. “The fighting that broke out at the Ethiopia-Eritrea border on 12 June, reportedly involving artillery and tanks, resulting in hundreds killed and wounded, has highlighted how old-fashioned power politics has...

We Won't Trigger Article 50 Until After 2017 – and That Means Brexit May Never Happen at All

Denis MacShane August 19, 2016
United Kingdom leaders are in no hurry to trigger action on Article 50 or begin formal negotiations to separate from the European Union. No planning has started. Likewise, other countries will hold back on negotiating new trade deals with the UK until a detailed understanding of separation is reached. “No-one in Europe wants to ‘punish’ Britain but no EU leader dare deny his or her own citizens...

Banks Miss Out as Chinese Firms Do DIY Deal Advice

Sumeet Chatterjee and Denny Thomas August 18, 2016
While Chinese tech mergers and acquisitions doubled to more than $60 billion in 2015, fee volume rose by just over half as much. “China's cashed-up and ambitious technology firms are increasingly spurning external advisers on acquisitions and investments in foreign companies,” report Sumeet Chatterjee and Denny Thomas. The technology firms pass over investment bankers who typically handle...

Brexit Success Hinges on Global Goodwill

Simon Nixon August 17, 2016
British leaders’ cautious approach to Brexit demonstrates the challenges of withdrawing from tightly integrated trade. Analysts anticipate a cost of up to 6 percent of GDP, depending on whether the United Kingdom retains a relationship with the European Union or tries to trade on World Trade Organization terms. A new tariff schedule on WTO terms would require consensus of 160 members including...

China’s Glut, Exports Could Threaten World Economy

Börje Ljunggren August 11, 2016
China came to the aid of the stricken global economy in 2008 with record stimulus funds. But that stimulus injection encouraged debt and overcapacity in key markets like steel and aluminum, explains Börje Ljunggren, author and former Swedish ambassador to China. The country’s total debt has more than doubled, now exceeding 250 percent of GDP. China accounts for half of global output in steel and...