In The News

Obama Europe Trip

May 23, 2011
The US and partners in Europe face many challenges – growing unrest in North Africa, winding down war in Afghanistan as well as leadership of the International Monetary Fund – all to be discussed during the G8 meeting and Barack Obama’s weeklong visit to the continent. Elections are scheduled in Tunisia and Egypt later this year, but for the West to exercise influence requires funds, and debt...

Global Split Over Next IMF Chief

Peggy Hollinger, Barney Jopson, Alan Beattie, Robin Harding May 18, 2011
With 187 member nations and a staff of 2400, the International Monetary Fund promotes cooperation, exchange-rate stability and balanced growth of international trade, particularly during times of economic crisis. The agency of the United Nations has its own charter and finances, according to the IMF website, with members “represented through a quota system broadly based on their relative size in...

Financial Regulation: Facing a Global Challenge

André Lévy-Lang May 13, 2011
Without global interventions, the outcome of the recent global crisis could have been far worse. Finance is an essential tool for unlocking capital, economic development and innovation, and writing for ParisTech Review, André Lévy-Lang outlines features and weaknesses of modern finance and its assessment of risk. Capital requirements since the late 1980s led to incentives for banks to engage in...

Libyan Fallout: Does NATO Divide the Atlantic Partners? Part II

Tomas Valasek May 12, 2011
Despite internal divisions, Europe handily leads the military campaign in Libya, taking on global-policing duties long shouldered by the US. NATO’s objectives have shifted and expanded since 1949, with members divided about threats and strategy. This YaleGlobal series analyzes the transformation in the NATO alliance resulting from the Libyan crisis. Members share common goals, and thus the...

Not a Laughing Matter

Peter Hartcher May 12, 2011
Australia, member of the Commonwealth of Nations, has gradually shed symbolic homage and perfunctory reports to the British crown, notes Peter Hartcher of the Sydney Morning Herald. Likewise, the percentage of Australians yearning for a break from the monarchy has declined. Hartcher quotes an observation from Wayne Hudson of the University of Tasmania: “tension doesn't erupt much because the...

Sorry, We're Closed

Leo Cendrowicz May 11, 2011
Citizens of 25 European nations can cross those borders freely without delay, thanks to the Schengen Agreement of 1985, which abolished internal borders in lieu of a single external border and applies common rules on visas and border controls. But with unrest in North Africa, illegal immigration to Europe has climbed, and leaders of Italy and France have called for temporary imposition of border...

Greece Considers Exit From Euro Zone

Christian Reiermann May 10, 2011
Countries immersed in debt squirm under the scrutiny of creditors and angry taxpayers. Spiegel Online reports that Greece, seeking relief, is considering abandoning the euro. The Greek government has denied the report. The story by Christian Reiermann reports that any such relief would be short-lived: Capital markets would sever ties. Banks would go insolvent. EU aid to Greece would stop....