In The News

Gulf to the US: Thanks, But No Thanks

Dilip Hiro October 22, 2008
Some financial analysts anticipated the cash-rich sovereign wealth funds of the Middle East to swoop down on giants in the financial and industrial world struggling with a global credit crisis – a notion arousing both fear and hope throughout Europe and the US. But such rescue investments have not materialized, explains author and Middle East analyst Dilip Hiro. Hiro reports that operations of...

A Silver Lining to the US-India Nuclear Deal

Pavel Podvig October 21, 2008
India conducted nuclear research outside the limits of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and analysts disagree whether a deal between the US and India, allowing for trade and cooperation on civilian nuclear materials, hampers or strengthens that international treaty. “Without a doubt, the U.S.-India nuclear deal presents a serious challenge to the NPT,” writes physicist...

Unilateral Delusions

Joseph P. Quinlan October 20, 2008
US voters have an independent streak, preferring to overlook just how much American prosperity depends on foreign labor, capital and natural resources. Presidential candidates find it easy to attract voters, especially those worried about jobs and the economy, with anti-trade messages, and this year’s campaign is no different: Democrat Barack Obama criticizes firms that ship jobs overseas, while...

China Sneezes, Latin America Catches a Cold

Jeremy Martin October 17, 2008
Latin America has diversified in industry, investment and trade, shifting to rely less on the US and more on China. A slowdown in China, combined with financial crisis in the US, could seriously impact commodity prices for Latin America, reducing government spending and investment in infrastructure, explain Jeremy Martin and Roger Tissot of the Institute of the Americas, writing for Latin...

Asia's Fear of a Weak America

Philip Bowring October 17, 2008
East Asia has been the site of many "economic miracles" of the past half-century. Starting with Japan's post-World War II boom, continuing through the "Asian Tigers" and China, successes led to speculation that this is to be the "Pacific Century," as noted by columnist Philip Bowring in the International Herald Tribune. Yet those successes relied on the US...

China Tangled Up in Red, White and Blue

Dingli Shen October 16, 2008
China’s bilateral relationship with the US is a priority for both nations. Foreign investment and trade creates jobs and contributes to stability. “The Chinese view of its government's relations with the United States is primarily based on economic terms and is shaped around the premise that it sees China as a newly developing economy that offers opportunities to American investors to expand...

Chronicle of a Disaster Foretold

Ernesto Zedillo October 15, 2008
Low interest rates and plenty of credit in recent years created a housing bubble with the attendant risk. Investment banks divided the loans into complex financial packages, many labeled as safe and even insured. But the investments were safe only as long as housing prices continued to climb. “Once again the markets forget that financial innovations are likely to be underpriced and therefore...