In The News

Companies Fear Radical Turn in Argentina

Benedict Mander August 25, 2014
Argentina has defaulted on its bonds twice since 2001. The country had settled with most bondholders, but the terms of some loans required disputes settled in US courts. A US judge sided with the minority, ruling that Argentina could not avoid the holdouts. A defiant Argentina swiftly responded with a swap plan to continue paying most creditors, but not the holdouts. Foreign firms doing business...

Long-Term Answer to Border Crises: Empower Women

Marisol Ruiz August 19, 2014
Policy proposals to end the flow of children streaming across the southern border of the United States too often focus on enforcement, including increased military presence along the border or warehouse-like detention centers in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras – the three nations that so many try to flee. Such proposals miss the major challenge behind many border crises, that is, minimal...

How America’s Police Became an Army: The 1033 Program

Taylor Wofford August 15, 2014
The US devotes 23 percent of its budget to defense purposes and veterans benefits – more than the next 13 countries combined. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan cost $4 trillion alone. Even before the country pulled back from wars, the Department of Defense has distributed surplus equipment to willing takers, including allies and local police at home, many untrained: The weapons can fall into...

Brutality and “the Beast”: Why Child Migration to US Is Slowing Down

Gabriel Stargardter August 13, 2014
The numbers of children detained after crossing the US southern border is slowing. A Reuters team points to tighter enforcement at the border and for cargo trains moving northward, including increasing the speed of trains; road checkpoints; anecdotal tales about crime and drug gangs; high profile arrests and a US advertising campaign on the dangers associated with the journey. “The sight of...

Beijing Invites US to Link Up Over Africa

Geoff Dyer August 6, 2014
As the United States hosts the first ever summit of nearly 50 African heads of states and governments in a bid to regain influence in the continent China has invited the United States to cooperate in developing Africa with more finance and infrastructure, writes Geoff Dyer for the Financial Times. Both countries have shown a desire in recent years to invest in the poor continent that is one of...

Banks Cash In on Inversion Deals Intended to Elude Taxes

Andrew Ross Sorkin August 6, 2014
Big investment banks are financing merger deals that encourage US corporations to relocate headquarters overseas to dodge US taxes. The banks anticipate “nearly $1 billion in fees over the last three years advising and persuading American companies to move the address of their headquarters abroad (without actually moving),” reports Andrew Ross Sorkin, editor of DealBook for the New York Times....

Personal Privacy Is Only One of the Costs of NSA Surveillance

Kim Zitter July 30, 2014
Politicians in the United States have not considered the economic ramifications of intrusive National Security Agency surveillance, bulk collection of data stored for future examination and a cavalier attitude that security fears trump privacy protections. Exposure of the surveillance capabilities have “had a profound impact on the economy, the security of the internet and the credibility of the...