In The News

Project Syndicate: Strong Dollar Weakness

Benjamin J. Cohen August 24, 2018
The US dollar gained more than 8 percent value for the year and shows no sign of slowing. US officials credit growing business confidence, but Benjamin Cohen, writing for Project Syndicate, credits rising interest rates for increased dollar demand. The rising dollar makes US exports more expensive, and new tariffs make imports more expensive, adding to inflation and prompting the US Federal...

Wall Street Journal: Turkish Lira Crisis Hammers Emerging Markets

Georgi Kantchev and Yeliz Candemir August 14, 2018
Some emerging economies relied too much on low-cost borrowing available after major economies increased liquidity after the 2008 debt crisis. Value of the Turkish lira is falling, and the country struggles to boost liquidity by reducing its banks’ reserve requirements while resisting an increase in its own interest rates. “Turkey has become a primary cause for concerns on global financial markets...

The Guardian: Trump’s Sanctions Against Iran Breach of International Law

Gholamali Khoshroo August 14, 2018
The Trump administration has threatened economic retaliation against nations that maintain economic ties to Iran. Writing for the Guardian, Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gholamali Khoshroo argues that such a position is “a clear rejection of diplomacy and multilateralism” and “a clear call for confrontation rather than cooperation.” After withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal in May –...

Quartz: Indian Rupee Falling

Nupur Anand August 13, 2018
The US trade war, a US dollar rising in value and the end to low-cost borrowing are prompting emerging market currencies to plunge in value: “Already, higher crude oil prices, a widening trade deficit, and the exit of foreign investors from India have shaved off over 8% from the rupee’s value this year,” reports Nupur Anand for Quartz. “Turkey has been in a rough patch this year, with its...

Financial Times: Turkish Lira Plunges as Trump Threatens Tariffs

Ayla Jean Yackley and Demetri Sevastopulo August 10, 2018
Turkey’s currency is falling against the dollar even as the US president threatens more tariffs – 20 percent on aluminum and 50 percent on steel. Turkey’s president calls the actions “economic war.” Turkey, like the United States, is among the top 10 countries that produce steel. The lira’s fall “ricocheted into Turkey’s bond market, sending the yield on the local currency 10-year bond above 20...

Washington Post: Trump Tweets Warning to Iran’s Rouhani

Carol Morello August 9, 2018
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has not backed down in the face of threatening tweets by President Donald Trump in capital letters. The tweet was in response to a comment by the Iranian president. According to the Islamic Republic News Agency, Rouhani told a meeting of Iranian diplomats that “America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of...

Foreign Affairs: The Failures of Capitalism

Robin Varghese July 26, 2018
Wages for the poorer half of the population in Europe and the United States have had sluggish growth over the last 50 years, while corporate profits have soared. Karl Marx, philosopher and economist, had predicted that the nature of capitalism would lead to inequality, unemployment, stagnant wages and oligopolistic firms. While communist revolutions did occur in countries like Russia and China,...