In The News

Spiegel: Germany Prepares for Economic Downturn

Christian Reiermann January 15, 2019
International Monetary Fund analysts warn that the global economy confronts multiple risks, and the global banking system is not prepared for a downturn. Stock markets are losing value, and trade disagreements reduce efficiency and heighten uncertainty. Tightening US monetary policy and rising interest rates pose problems for emerging economies that have borrowed in dollars. Brexit, populism and...

Financial Times: Why World Economy Feels Fragile

Martin Wolf January 9, 2019
The livelihoods and routines of more than 7 billion people depend on a stable global economy, and there are always reasons to worry, including long-term structural and cyclical challenges, explains Martin Wolf for the Financial Times. Global growth has slowed, led by a slowdown in the Chinese economy, but central banks and global markets can and do adjust to cyclical changes. While severe...

Wall Street Journal: Cooperation in Foreign-Bribery Cases

Samuel Rubenfeld January 5, 2019
Cross-border cooperation on enforcing foreign bribery laws is on the rise as other countries join US efforts. “U.S. authorities resolved 17 corporate cases of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations in 2018, matching the average amount struck over the past 10 years,” reports Samuel Rubenfeld for the Wall Street Journal. “Three cases settled last year, with Brazil’s Petróleo Brasiliero SA, French...

Guardian: Tackle Climate or Face Financial Crash

Damian Carrington December 11, 2018
Some of the world’s largest pension funds, insurers, rating agencies and asset managers are heeding warnings from climate researchers to demand phase-out on all coal burning, reduced carbon emissions and introduction of carbon taxes. As ministers arrive for a UN climate summit in Poland, more than 400 investors signed a Global Investor Statement describing refusal to acknowledge climate change as...

Washington Post: Iran Sanctions Choke Medicine Imports

Erin Cunningham December 10, 2018
Economists project the latest round of US sanctions on Iran to have detrimental effects on the nation’s healthcare sector, according to the Washington Post. Sanctions on Iranian financial firms “could endanger the flow of humanitarian goods as foreign banks and outside suppliers abandon business ties with their partners in Iran, analysts and experts warn,” reports Erin Cunningham. Moreover, some...

The Local France: Savage Violence in Paris

John Lichfield December 3, 2018
More than 10,000 yellow-vested protesters in Paris expressed fury toward their government over increasing inequality, unemployment and poor services in rural areas with wealth going unshared. “The Arc de Triomphe, symbol of French Republican pride, was vandalised and tagged with insulting graffiti,” explains John Lichfield, adding that police acted with restraint as protesters set buildings and...

Project Syndicate: Silent Inflation

Robert J. Shiller December 2, 2018
Central banks manage inflation for stability, and Yale economics professor Robert Shiller describes the challenge of “silent inflation” – the practice of central banks setting inflation targets ranging from below or near 2 percent for Europe, the United States and Japan to 13 percent for Egypt. “Such policies cause a sort of magnification of the present in the minds of most people,” Shiller...