In The News

COP21: A Potluck Dinner in Paris

John Cassidy December 4, 2015
Nations will likely agree to limit greenhouse gas emissions, but governments must ensure enforcement. The climate conference in Paris does not aim for a treaty. Instead leaders “have agreed to hold a huge potluck dinner, in which each country brings what it can,” explains John Cassidy, writing for the New Yorker. The result is a hodgepodge of targets and pledges to reduce emission levels by some...

Renminbi Joins the IMF’s Reserve-Currency Basket

December 1, 2015
Only a few goods and services are priced in what are known as Special Drawing Rights, or the mix of currencies used by the International Monetary Fund as a unit. Transit through the Suez Canal are one such service. The Chinese renminbi joins other currencies like the US dollar, the euro and Japanese yen for the IMF basket. Because so few items are priced such way, the Economist points out many...

COP21: China Prepares to Act on Climate Change

Isabel Hilton December 1, 2015
The climate talks in Paris known as COP21 are underway, and world leaders confront overwhelming scientific evidence that catastrophe is inevitable if countries continue to rely on fossil fuels. Global awareness runs high about the increasing economic and security threats of volatile weather patterns, including food and water shortages, infrastructure damage and rising insurance costs, as well as...

The Globalization of America’s Colleges

Laura McKenna November 27, 2015
The number of international students attending US colleges approached 1 million for the 2014-15 academic year. Such students represent 5 percent of the college population. Top states are California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts, and Illinois. Colleges with more than 11 percent international students include New York University, University of Southern California, Columbia University, Arizona...

Why a Climate Change Deal Is the Best Hope for Peace

Jason Box and Naomi Klein November 25, 2015
A deal on climate change is a global priority after the terrorist attacks in Paris, argue climatologist Jason Box and author Naomi Klein. Their essay for the New Yorker points out that severe drought instigated a mass migration within Syria from rural areas to cities, contributing to discontent. Conflict in the Middle East should inspire “an urgent push to lower emissions as rapidly and deeply as...

The World's Multi-Trillion Dollar Bond Market Is Circling the Drain

Ben Wright November 23, 2015
The world is awash in debt, more than $225 trillion in all by some reports. Warning bells are going off about a lack of liquidity in bond markets amid anticipation for the US Federal Reserve to begin gradually lifting interest rates. Prices of bonds already in the market will fall as interest rates rise because investors will pursue the new bonds with higher yields. Stimulus spending by...

G20 Leaders Endorse Crackdown on Tax Evasion

November 18, 2015
Global leaders are pledging to crack down on tax evasion and also work on sustainable growth. The group of the world’s 20 largest economies, including the European Union and 19 countries, “committed to the implementation of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project (BEPS) which closes gaps that allow corporate profits to ‘disappear’ or to be artificially shifted to low or no tax environments...