In The News

Globalization and the Markets – Part II

Xu Sitao January 24, 2008
As anxiety spread about a possible recession hitting the US, stock-indexes went into sharp decline in Europe and Asia. Not surprisingly, worried investors scrutinize the Chinese stock market, as conventional wisdom suggests that China investments are the world’s next over-valued bubble. But analyst Steven Xu points out that the Chinese market could continue to grow, especially this year as China...

Next Stop Asia

January 24, 2008
With Asia’s emerging economies posting spectacular growth, Asian investors had hoped that a US recession would cause little concern for their economies. But then global stock markets took a big tumble. World markets are connected, but that does not mean a recession in one part of the world will necessarily devastate another part. Some Asian markets are more vulnerable than others, reminds this...

On the Cusp of Economic History

Katrin Bennhold January 23, 2008
Increasing inequality both among and within nations has contributed to a troubling global economic outlook. The days of easy globalization may be over, writes Katrin Bennhold for the International Herald Tribune, in reporting on concerns expressed at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “Signs of a protectionist backlash are multiplying as worries about climate change, the rise of state-run...

Globalization and the Markets – Part I

David Dapice January 22, 2008
Stock-market indexes have tumbled like dominos around the globe, exposing vulnerability of intricate economic connections. A crisis in one nation – and the panic – can quickly bounce from one country to the next. A major cause behind the stock-market plunges the world over are US financial instruments designed to spread and protect risk by including all manner of home mortgages, explains...

Careful What You Wish For

January 22, 2008
Many challenges await the next US president, and all demand immediate fixes, report a team of reporters for Newsweek. Candidates make promises about 12 million illegal immigrants, with 500,000 more entering every year; a strained health care system that is unaffordable for the millions of uninsured; an overextended military in Iraq and Afghanistan; record oil prices; a battered economy; global...

China Eyes Latin American Commodities

Georg Caspary January 18, 2008
Latin America is rich in natural resources, including oil, minerals and agricultural crops, all desired in the global markets. At the same time, China has become the world's largest importer of cotton, copper and soybeans as well as the second-largest oil importer. Latin America can secure lasting advantages from its commodities sales – including poverty reduction and sustainable development...

World Rides to Wall Street's Rescue

David Enrich January 17, 2008
Nations with hefty savings accounts, including Singapore and Saudi Arabia, are devoting billions to rescuing US banks in trouble, a result of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. “After flooding the world with capital that fed both economic growth and excess, battered U.S. financial institutions now are turning to countries and companies that not so long ago were suffering through their own disasters...