In The News

Does Destroying Ivory Really Save Elephants?

Mwangi Kimenyi March 26, 2015
Africa’s elephant and rhino populations have declined precipitously as the continent’s illegal ivory and rhino horn trade expands out of control. Despite the international ban on the ivory trade in 1989, African governments have failed to address the poaching. In an effort to disrupt the illegal ivory market, African governments’ anti-poaching teams regularly burn intercepted stocks of ivory....

The German Road: Congo Project Shows Pitfalls of Development Aid

Samiha Shafy March 25, 2015
From 2002 to 2011, Welthungerhilfe, a major German relief organization, invested in road construction for the Democratic Republic of Congo, National Road N2 is “613-kilometers (381-miles) long, stretching all the way to Kisangani, a city on the shores of the country's namesake: the Congo River,” explains Samiha Shafy for Spiegel Online. The goal was that a road stretching into the jungle...

Global Push Aims to Change China's Mind on Bank Rules: US Official

Krista Hughes March 23, 2015
Japan, the EU and the US are urging China to delay enforcing new rules “that would force technology vendors to Chinese banks to hand over secret source code and adopt Chinese encryption algorithms,” reports Krista Hughes for Reuters Canada. China expects those hoping to do business in the world’s most populous nation to abide by Chinese law. The rules – proposed as cybersecurity and...

The Grexit Dilemma: What Would Happen if Greece Leaves the Euro Zone?

Nikolaus Blome, Martin Hesse, Alexander Neubacher, Christian Reiermann, Michael Sauga, Christoph Schult and Alexander Smoltczyk March 10, 2015
Europe cannot agree on more bailouts for Greece, and since electing a new leftist government, Greece is failing to offer a plan on how it will repay its heavy debt, reports an article in Spiegel Online. This opens the possibility of the nation’s exit from the European Union: “Greece's creditors … will not just have to reach agreement with Athens on interest rates and payback periods, but...

Currency Wars Fool Few in the Age of Social Media

Will Hickey March 3, 2015
To push back at economic recession, Japan, the United States, Europe and other governments have printed extra money, lowered interest rates, and taken on new debt. The process is called quantitative easing. Corporations and individuals with extra cash must search for safe havens and investments. The currencies, reduced in value, reduce export costs and drive pools of money to emerging markets....

New Fees, Regulations on Tap for Employers of Foreign Workers

Tara Carman February 23, 2015
Canada is backing away from open borders for skilled labor. New rules require employers who hope to hire a foreign worker must submit copies of the employment offer, details about their business operations and a $230 fee. The government’s aim is to protect Canadian workers against displacement, with the new requirements applying only to businesses that don’t conduct Labor Market Impact...

Stream of Foreign Wealth Flows to Elite New York Real Estate

Louise Story and Stephanie Saul February 16, 2015
Purchase of high-cost US real estate has become less transparent even as the nation tries to battle tax evasion with overseas accounts. Louise Story and Stephanie Saul investigate purchases of elite condos by foreign billionaires in the heart of Manhattan for the New York Times. The source of money for such sales is difficult to identify with US laws permitting movement of funds through shell...