In The News

Fears Intensify That Euro Crisis Could Snowball

Nelson D. Schwartz, Eric Dash May 17, 2010
As Europe strives to bail out Greece and other nations in serious debt, global investors ponder the long-term effects of huge imbalances. The worry is that countries with massive debt like Spain and Portugal can weaken strongholds like Germany and France, reports an article in the New York Times. Economically strong countries that hold problem debt may be forced into restructuring plans even as...

Emerging Green Technology Poses Threat of Trade Wars

Bruce Stokes May 14, 2010
Smart investors recognize that cheap oil won’t last forever and emerging green technologies could revolutionize everyday business as much as computers did. As with any new technology, nations compete to perfect and produce new products for the world, making lots of money along the way, explains international economics columnist Bruce Stokes. But Stokes warns that the global trading system lacks...

American Made…Chinese Owned

Sheridan Prasso May 13, 2010
Chinese companies are increasing US investments and adding jobs, particularly throughout the conservative South. Wages still remain high by Chinese standards, but land is cheap and energy is reliable. In a cover article for Fortune Magazine, Sheridan Prasso reports that more than 30 states, ports and municipalities have hired representatives and offered tax incentives to lure Chinese companies...

China's Crackdown on Nonprofit Groups Prompts New Fears Among Activists

Keith B. Richburg May 12, 2010
The purpose of a non-profit or non-governmental organization is to act for the public good, with no benefits for individual organizers. But China’s communist government is wary of competition in serving the public good, and recent reports suggest a tightening control over what Keith Richburg of the Washington Post calls a “freewheeling civil society sector.” During the past two decades, thousands...

Lessons From Athens

Nayan Chanda May 12, 2010
Carefree spending on borrowed funds is not sustainable. Europe could not handle fast assistance to debt-laden Greece on its own and had to turn to the International Monetary Fund for additional financial support. Eurozone nations and the IMF imposed stringent conditions, and future borrowing by the Greeks will carry heavy costs. “The same global liquidity that can fuel growth can also evaporate...

Renminbi Revaluation Won't Trigger a Shopping Spree

Zhiwu Chen May 12, 2010
Many economists and policy analysts maintain that resolving huge trade imbalances is easy – the Chinese government should just let the renminbi appreciate. But that quick fix won’t do much, contends Zhiwu Chen, professor of finance with the Yale School of Management. Revaluing the renminbi would shift manufacturing to other low-cost Asian nations, without spurring Chinese spending on US goods or...

Greek Crisis and the Future of the European Union – Part II

Jean-Pierre Lehmann May 7, 2010
Internal divisions can endanger any union more than external threats. Mistrust – a lack of shared basic values or vision – can decimate cooperation, explains Jean-Pierre Lehmann, professor of political economy, in the second article of a two-part series analyzing the Greek debt crisis. Lehmann describes Greece’s immense debt load, the history of corruption, and their effect on the European Union...