In The News

MarketWatch: How Globalization Sunk Many Americans Deeper in Debt

Erik Loualiche June 1, 2017
International trade has uneven effects for regions of the United States and was particularly damaging for communities that relied on manufacturing – with high rates of underemployment, unemployment and debt. Household debt in the United States doubled from 2000 to 2007, peaking at $13 trillion in 2008, and nearly a third of US household debt could be attributed to import competition and...

IRIN News: The Real Crisis in North Korea

Gianluca Spezza May 31, 2017
The international community focuses on North Korea’s expanding nuclear capability. The narrow focus, largely due to the dictatorship’s secrecy and closed economy, overlooks North Korean citizens, explains Gianluca Spezza for IRIN News Agency. Spezza points out that Kim Jong Un, while brutal, does not wield the influence of his father or grandfather, adding that “Security apparatuses are no longer...

Forbes: These Asian Countries Could Follow in Taiwan's LGBT Rights Footsteps

Ralph Jennings May 31, 2017
Taiwan’s Constitutional Court declared that same-sex marriage is part of the “people’s right to equality” in May and became the first place in Asia to legalize the practice. The island has a history of practicing progressive values, with the LGBT movement forming more than two decades ago as politicians attempted to build a more pluralistic society. “Taiwanese LGBT groups are wondering now who...

Bloomberg: The Saudi Oil Blunder That Will Keep Costing

Leonid Bershidsky May 30, 2017
On May 25, 14 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), along with 10 other oil-producing nations led by Russia, agreed to a deal that would limit oil production until March 2018. OPEC nations represent just over 40 percent of global oil production, reports the US Energy Information Administration, with Saudi Arabia and Venezuela among OPEC’s largest producers. With...

The Guardian: Merkel Says EU Cannot Completely Rely on US and Britain Anymore

Jon Henley May 30, 2017
The United States as reliable partner is a campaign issue for other countries. “We Europeans truly have to take its fate into its own hands,” said Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel at campaign rally. The Guardian reported on Merkel’s comments: “Speaking after bruising meetings of Nato and the G7 group of wealthy nations last week, the German chancellor suggested the postwar western alliance had...

Bloomberg: China's Downgrade Could Lead to a Mountain of Debt

May 30, 2017
Moody’s Investor Services lowered China’s sovereign debt rating by one level in late May for the first time since 1989. The company cited high levels of corporate debt mostly held by state-owned enterprises as the cause. With an increase in the yield premium on bonds, Chinese companies face higher interest rates when borrowing money, indicating greater risk. Hence, raising capital for investments...

Project Syndicate: Rethinking the Next China

Stephen S. Roach May 28, 2017
China has steadily shifted policies since 1980 in pursuit of global economic leadership. “While many of the key building blocks of China’s transitional framework have fallen into place – especially rapid growth in services and accelerated urbanization – there can be no mistaking a new and important twist: China now appears to be changing from an adapter to a driver of globalization,” explains...