In The News

Guardian: Tackle Climate or Face Financial Crash

Damian Carrington December 11, 2018
Some of the world’s largest pension funds, insurers, rating agencies and asset managers are heeding warnings from climate researchers to demand phase-out on all coal burning, reduced carbon emissions and introduction of carbon taxes. As ministers arrive for a UN climate summit in Poland, more than 400 investors signed a Global Investor Statement describing refusal to acknowledge climate change as...

Asia Times: Asia Cowers as Trump Battles Xi

William Pesek November 30, 2018
The world’s 20 largest economies gather in Buenos Aires for the G20 summit. Participants include the European Union and 19 nations, seven of which are in Asia. Asian nations worry about the ongoing trade fight between China and the United States, along with the threat of more tariffs, could trigger inflation and global recession. “The China-US trade brawl is the economic equivalent of giant...

Project Syndicate: The Blockchain Lie

Nouriel Roubini October 25, 2018
The bubble has burst for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and economist Nouriel Roubini argues that such techno-currencies and the related blockchain distributed ledger software are over-hyped and not useful. He insists that investors find more security holding real money widely recognized by governments. “In practice, blockchain is nothing more than a glorified spreadsheet,” Roubini writes...

China-US Focus: US Miscalculation on a Chinese Debt Crisis

Vasilis Trigkas and Qian Feng August 30, 2018
US leaders may misunderstand Chinese economic fundamentals by assuming that a trade war will trigger a debt crisis that threatens China’s government. Vasilis Trigkas and Qian Feng of Tsinghua University point to three China-specific economic characteristics that could prevent an economic crash. The Chinese Communist Party controls the nation’s information infrastructure which gives regulators...

Time: False Promises of Protectionism

Dambisa Moyo May 24, 2018
Critics of globalization insist its policies benefit only a few. Yet “full globalization” may not have been given a fair chance as governments embrace weak models. International economist and author Dambisa Moyo points to three consequences of isolationist trends: First, businesses pursue local models, and relevance of global financial centers will decline, with reduced access to global capital...

Bloomberg: US Sanction Power Reaching Its Limit?

Ben Holland May 23, 2018
The United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and plans unilateral sanctions. Ben Holland of Bloomberg News identifies a pattern: the Trump administration’s increasing reliance on sanctions and disdain for diplomacy. Other major economies, especially the European Union, China and India may be weary of US demands that increase their costs. “...

Project Syndicate: Debt Shackles Return

Michael Heise May 16, 2018
Accelerating global growth is based on rising public and public debt. Economist Michael Heise counts such debt among the most serious challenges for the global economy. The Bank for International Settlements reports that total private and public debt of households, government agencies, corporations and other entities not in the financial sector – or non-financial debt – amounts to more than 240...