In The News

Spiegel Online: Trump's Dangerous Game With the US Dollar

Tim Bartz and Martin Hesse February 16, 2018
Economists around the globe suggest the United States is engaging in a currency war. “Even though the U.S. economy has already been growing robustly for years and, with an unemployment rate of just 4.1 percent, is approaching full employment, Trump is continuing to stimulate growth – a focus that could result in an overheated economy, which would present a danger to the entire global economy,”...

Reuters: Asian Markets Uneasy, Longer US Debt Yields Verge on 3%

Vidya Ranganathan February 9, 2018
The US Congress allowed a brief government shutdown before approving a two-year spending bill, and the US Treasury Department is on track to borrow almost $1 trillion this fiscal year, almost double from the previous year. The US is increasing spending after approving tax cuts that so far are reducing revenue. Asian markets are unnerved by the potential of rising interest rates and long-term US...

Global Finance: Global Regulators Finalize Basel III Rules

Efraim Chalamish January 30, 2018
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has finalized Basel III rules on voluntary global bank capital standards. “The original rules raised questions about the ability of global banks to use internal models to assess various risks and the need to level the playing field in global banking,” explains Efraim Chalamish for Global Finance. The rules aim to decrease bank leverage and increase...

Bloomberg Businessweek: Climate Change Could Make Borrowing More Expensive

Emily Chasan January 23, 2018
The value of bond holdings for locales or companies struck by disaster can plunge: “bond rating agencies such as Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings are looking at whether they should be including more disaster forecasting in calculating the grades they give to government debt and to companies in industries ranging from insurance to construction,” writes Emily Chasen for...

The Times of India: Virulent Symptoms of Global Inequality Need Concerted Global Response

Nayan Chanda January 2, 2018
The uncertainty of a topsy-turvy world has many implications for global security and the global economy. Turkey is backing away from the United States and working with Russia on Syria; Saudi Arabia has turned on neighbor Qatar; Australia, wondering about US dependability, works with China; Russia supported a social media campaign that influenced the US presidential election; and in the United...

Reuters: What Has Brought Iranian Protesters to the Streets?

Bozorgmehr Sharafedin January 1, 2018
Tens of thousands of people in Iran are protesting the government’s economic policies with at least 12 deaths reported. The protests lack centralized leadership and in general demand greater government focus on domestic issues rather than costly interventions in Syria, Yemen or Iraq. “Iranians vented their anger over a sharp increase in prices of basic items like eggs, and a government proposal...

Financial Times: The Real Price of Brexit Emerges

Chris Giles December 18, 2017
Brexit supporters had suggested that Britain, by leaving the European Union, would have more money to invest in health care. Most economists at the time suggested the opposite was true, and updated analysis confirms the bad news: Britain can expect an annual GDP loss between £20 billion and £180 billion. The 2017 growth rate has already slowed to 1.5 percent even as the global economy is...