In The News

Six-Party Standstill

December 18, 2008
Five nations have worked for years, trying to convince North Korea to give up on a nuclear-weapons program. “Success will inevitably remain out of reach,” argues the Economist, and that’s because “the regime has no intention of ever halting its nuclear activities.” The only reason that major powers like China, the US, Russia and Japan pay much attention to North Korea is because of its weapons...

Divergence Grows Between China and the West – Part I

Xu Sitao December 18, 2008
The international community hopes that China steps up as a global leader on a wide array of crises. But the West is then taken aback when China goes about pursuing policy with seeming unconcern about the world. This YaleGlobal series analyzes the growing divergence between China and the West over two issues – the global economic crisis and festering discontent in Tibet. Due to trade imbalances,...

Doctor Freed After Court Forbids Forced Marriage

Ian Johnston December 17, 2008
A judge in Bangladesh intervened on behalf of a National Health Service physician held by her parents in Bangladesh and expected her to marry a man of their choosing. “Her lawyers said the case set a precedent in Bangladesh and it is also one of the first cases where legal action was taken in the UK since the Forced Marriages Act became law last month,” reports Ian Johnston for the Independent....

Global Car Industry Fearful for Detroit

Nelson D. Schwartz December 16, 2008
Overseas operations have long helped carry the US car companies through hard times. But the current economic crisis is especially severe, as US car companies confront mounting health-care costs and reduced credit, an abrupt reduction in demand for oversized vehicles, volatile fuel prices which influence consumer choices, and a home base of customers who have sharply curtailed their expenditures....

Mortgages May Be Toxic, But US Treasuries Appear a Safe Haven

Ashok Bardhan December 16, 2008
While the US financial markets were the source behind global credit calamity and still present tremendous uncertainty, foreign investors continue to demonstrate trust in US government institutions by increasing investments in US Treasuries. That trust gives policymakers time and space to work on significant imbalances in the areas of currency exchange rates, deficits and trade, explains Berkeley...

Asia Faces a Tough 2009 as Output Decreases

Michael Pettis December 15, 2008
Nations that engage in trading are not immune from the global economic crisis, as it spreads first throughout the trade-deficit, consumption nations and then on to the trade-surplus, producer nations, explains finance professor Michael Pettis for the Financial Times. Pettis offers three ways for the global economy to adjust: The rich countries can continue borrowing and consuming, or the trade-...

In China, Anger Rises as Economy Falls

Barbara Demick December 15, 2008
A global economic downturn prompted consumers in the West to slow spending, disrupting hiring and payroll in China and sparking sporadic protests, reports Barbara Demick for the Los Angles Times. China’s growth and employment rates still surpass those in the US, yet any economic slowdown “could present the leadership with its biggest political challenge since the student protests at Tiananmen...