In The News

German Court Ruling on ECB Asset Purchases: FT

Martin Wolf May 13, 2020
The German constitutional court ruled against the European Central Bank’s public sector purchase program, launched in 2015. Martin Wolf argues for the Financial Times that the move contributes to EU disintegration: “It is an attack on basic economics, the central bank’s integrity, its independence and the legal order of the EU…. The court “did not argue that the ECB had improperly engaged in...

Habitat Destruction, Deforestation, Pandemics: CNBC

Emma Newburger May 12, 2020
Deforestation, climate change and other habitat destruction reduce biodiversity, bringing wild animals and humans closer along with infectious diseases. “The total number of disease outbreaks has more than tripled each decade since the 1980s,” reports Emma Newburger for CNBC. “More than two thirds of the diseases originated in animals and most of those were directly transmitted from wildlife to...

Right to Education: Dawn

Marvi Soomro May 12, 2020
Around the world, governments close schools to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and encourage teachers and parents to support ongoing studies. From primary school to university, lockdowns expose inequities in available technologies, parent capabilities and motivation, quiet spaces, books and other resources. “Major barriers like the digital divide and the weakness of education systems threaten to...

Covid-19 Conspiracy Theories and US Campaign: CNN

Stephen Roach May 11, 2020
US presidential candidates have paused campaigns due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The world learned about the deadly disease in early January, and incumbent Donald Trump repeatedly insisted the United States had Covid-19 under control. Months later the United States represents one third of the world’s confirmed cases and more than one quarter of the deaths, outcomes that expose layers of inequality...

Tolerance of Cellphone Monitoring: Washington Post

Kareem Fahim, Min Joo Kim and Steve Hendrix May 8, 2020
In a few months, tens of millions of people around the world in at least 27 countries went under surveillance from governments, private companies and researchers without consent in order to trace the spread and contain the Covid-19 virus. Some people tolerate surveillance, agreeing that such measures are necessary to avoid a nationwide lockdown. However, the measures provoke debate in Europe and...

Battle Against the “Tsunami of Hate”: UN

António Guterres May 8, 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic has targeted vulnerable populations – initially striking cities while wielding disproportionate effect on nursing homes, prisons and other facilities where employees work in close quarters. These include US meat-processing facilities, often staffed with immigrant labor. Researchers suggest many of the deaths are due to disparities in health care, and the pandemic exposes...

Plunged Global Factory Output: Wall Street Journal

Paul Hannon and Tom Fairless May 7, 2020
Investors and policymakers regard the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, or PMI, as a leading indicator of economic activities. PMI above 50.0 implies a rise in activities, offering an optimistic forecast while a reading below that shows economic decline. With the wide spread of COVID-19 around the world and more countries joining the lockdown, PMI witnessed a sharp drop in April. In India...