In The News

The Next Domino? Italy Suffers from Euro-Zone Contagion Fears

Carsten Volkery July 13, 2011
After Greece and Portugal, the markets are sending signals of turning on Italy, and investor fears are raising rates on the nation’s government bonds. Analysts have issued warnings about the country’s aging population, weak economic growth, low productivity and rigid labor market, reports Carsten Volkery for Spiegel Online. Should Italy fall into the vicious circle of downgrades and rising bond...

The Eurozone Heads for Breakup

Nouriel Roubini June 16, 2011
Greece, a nation of 11.2 million, owes more than €300 billion. Restructuring the debt is inevitable, notes Nouriel Roubini in a blog posting for the Financial Times. The only unknowns are how and when. Europe united behind the euro as a single currency before enacting structural reforms and streamlining monetary, fiscal and exchange-rate policies, Roubini explains, adding that “early interest...

Advanced Economies: Minutes to Midnight? Part II

Bruce Stokes May 2, 2011
To encourage growth, governments borrowed to finance infrastructure and current expenditures, and anticipated revenues to eventually cover the costs. Low interest rates led to surging debt, investment bubbles and unrealistic growth projections rather than a sustainable economy with jobs and tax revenues. This two-part series analyzes the impending crisis for advanced economies. Europe had hoped...

The Experience Economy

David Brooks February 24, 2011
Consumers snap up the latest in electronic devices and regularly use sites like Facebook or Twitter. But such new inventions contribute a fraction of direct jobs produced by the automobile industry, notes David Brooks in his column for the New York Times. Brooks quotes Tyler Cowen’s e-book, “The Great Stagnation,” in suggesting that the US had a history of strong economic growth because of easy “...

Brazilians Making an Economic Mark

Mimi Whitefield February 15, 2011
“Bem-vindo” – or welcome in Portuguese – is the new greeting for South Florida. The struggling state was hit hard by the property bubble collapse and the sub-prime crisis, so now its real estate, tourism and shopping centers are a bargain for neighbors to the south - Brazilians. Brazil, poised to become the world’s fifth largest economy, has a low unemployment rate, reports Mimi Whitefield for...

Irish Pubs Close in Droves

Conor O’Clery February 4, 2011
Replicas of traditional Irish pubs are thriving around the world, but tourists could soon have trouble finding the real thing in Ireland. The original pubs, some centuries old, are putting out the last call and closing doors, as they confront a declining customer base. The culprits: rising unemployment, tied to the global recession, and declining disposable income for Irish citizens, whose taxes...

IMF Raises Spectre of Civil Wars as Global Inequalities Worsen

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard February 3, 2011
Reports of global economic recovery could be misleading. Indicators showing steady rises – in income, trade, stock markets or employment – focus on averages and mask growing divides between rich and poor both between and inside nations. Recovery built on “unstable foundations” could “sow the seeds of the next crisis,” warns Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the International Monetary...