In The News

Muslims in Texas Walk a Fine Line After Garland Shooting

Manny Fernandez and Laurie Goodstein May 18, 2015
Muslim leaders in Texas pointedly ignored plans for a Dallas exhibition of Prophet Mohammed cartoons, but worried how free speech could devolve into hate speech that incites violence. Sure enough, two men storming the event with guns were shot and killed. An article in the New York Times describes how one leader pondered a “response that would walk a fine line: clearly condemning the extremists...

The Age of Disruption

Nayan Chanda May 13, 2015
Awareness of new patterns, discoveries and inventions can revolutionize entire industries or economies. Others quickly adapt or struggle. Richard Dobbs, James Manyika and Jonathan Woetzel are authors of “No Ordinary Disruption: The Four Global Forces Breaking All the Trends,” and “By combining data from disparate fields, they make a compelling argument about the disruptive forces that are re-...

World's Oceans Value at $24T a Gross Underestimation?

Roman Kilisek May 11, 2015
The world’s oceans, as “lifelines of the global economy with about 70 percent of global trade being seaborne,” are priceless, but also taken for granted. The WWF report estimates the raw economic value of the oceans at US$24 trillion – about equal to the seventh largest economy in the world. The oceans could be undervalued, notes Roman Kilisek for Breaking Energy. That assigned value does not...

Bigger, Deglobalizing World May Be Hostile for Investors

James Saft May 8, 2015
Much of the world is trying to put a pause on global trade, immigration and other means of integration and globalization. The global credit crisis triggered the trends: “De-globalization is the partial unwinding of the long-running shift to arrangements that allow capital, goods and services to move more freely around the world,” writes James Saft. He describes evidence of resistance to...

China, Pursuing Strategic Interests, Builds Presence in Antarctica

Jane Perlez May 7, 2015
China is extending its global reach under President Xi Jinping, and that includes Antarctica. “He signed a five-year accord with the Australian government that allows Chinese vessels and, in the future, aircraft to resupply for fuel and food before heading south,” reports Jane Perlez for the New York Times. “That will help secure easier access to a region that is believed to have vast oil and...

High Costs of Cheap Oil

Deepak Gopinath May 7, 2015
Consumers are delighted by low oil prices and economists anticipate increased global growth. But the low prices are locking many industries into infrastructure that relies on fossil fuels. “High-carbon infrastructure – power plants, pipelines, factories, inefficient buildings, roads and transport vehicles – built now will last and pollute for decades to come,” writes Deepak Gopinath, a writer and...

The Dollar Joins the Currency Wars

Nouriel Roubini May 6, 2015
Countries want to export more than they import and promote growth and employment. More than 20 central banks around the globe have eased monetary policy, reducing the value of their currencies to make exports more attractive, explains economist Nouriel Roubini for Project Syndicate. He notes that trade and lending imbalances are growing. “The dollar has also risen relative to currencies of...