In The News

Cheap Money Helped Inflate Energy Balloon

Rani Molla and Lisa Abramowicz June 7, 2016
An easy monetary policy applied by the US Federal Reserve and other central banks since 2008 to stimulate the economy after the global debt crisis may have contributed to the shale oil boom and bust. The reduced interest rates and borrowing costs may have encouraged speculative behavior among investors searching for high yields. “The increase in debt went hand in hand with a drastic increase in U...

6 X-Factor Risks Keeping Fund Managers, Investors Up at Night

Marcus Padley May 27, 2016
Global fund managers responding to a monthly Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey identify and rank risks that could cause an abrupt and abnormal drop in global markets. Britain’s possible exit from the European Union tops the list for May. Second, an ongoing concern is the risk of devaluation and defaults in China. Another ongoing concern is quantitative failure, “that trillions of dollars...

IMF: Global Corruption Costs Trillions in Bribes, Lost Growth

David Lawder May 16, 2016
Corruption destabilizes governments and the global economy as a whole. “Public sector corruption siphons $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion annually from the global economy in bribes and costs far more in stunted economic growth, lost tax revenues and sustained poverty,” writes David Lawder for Reuters about an International Monetary Fund research report. The indirect costs – erosion of trust and...

Recruiting Students Overseas to Fill Seats, Not to Meet Standards

Stephanie Saul April 20, 2016
Responding to budget cuts from state legislatures, US public colleges increasingly rely on international students who pay higher tuition fees. Some universities rely on recruiting agencies to target international students, some of whom may be poorly prepared. Reporting for the New York Times, Stephanie Saul describes Western Kentucky University’s deal with Global Tree Overseas, paying commissions...

Bond Markets Reopen for Emerging Market Borrowers

Elaine Moore March 14, 2016
Emerging economies, including Brazil and Turkey, are returning to the international bond markets to refinance debt as low-cost global credit becomes available. “At the start of the year, emerging markets were gripped by a negative feedback loop as concerns about slowing growth left investors unwilling to lend and lack of lending reinforced concerns about growth,” reports Elaine Moore for...

The End of Globalization?

Daniel Gros March 9, 2016
Global trade, exports from China and commodity prices are in decline – and these trends are interconnected, argues Daniel Gros for Project Syndicate. Some analysts contend that globalization is dead, and Gros offers a reminder that globalization is not limited to trade: “Globalization entails many other features, including the surge in cross-border financial transactions and tourism, data...

How to Make Sense of Plummeting Global Markets

Neil Irwin January 21, 2016
The globe economy is in “reasonably solid state,” according to most leading forecasts as reported by the New York Times. Yet market “volatility and direction are consistent with the prospect of a new crisis or global recession, explains Neil Irwin. The evidence does not yet indicate whether such levels of market turbulence are rational or irrational, he explains, with the S&P 500 falling 9...