In The News

Time to Review FDI Rules

Nayan Chanda July 4, 2016
Politicians can’t resist hounding companies to create more jobs. Nayan Chanda outlines how India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi rejected Apple’s proposal to set up stores because the firm could not source at least 30 percent of manufacturing materials from local vendors. “The kind of offset arrangement that foreign manufacturers might agree to – like building parts of an aircraft in exchange for...

Week of Terror Underscores a “Desperate” Islamic State

Jessica Durando and Jim Michaels July 4, 2016
Surprise attackers willing to sacrifice their own lives are an ongoing and dangerous threat to major cities.The Islamic State is linked to attacks on the airport in Istanbul that killed 44, a restaurant in Dhaka with 22 deaths and a Baghdad shopping area with more than 200 dead. Analysts suggest that the terrorist group, while losing territory in Syria and Iraq, is shifting strategy toward...

Youth to Foot Bill for Baby Boomer Budget Incompetency

Jessica Irvine July 1, 2016
Young adults must become engaged in politics or risk living in poverty. “Borrowing rates are historically low,” explains Jessica Irvine for the Sydney Morning Herald. “But eventually the books should balance, and when they do, they will do so on the shoulders of future generations who will pay higher taxes than otherwise.” Her objections to rising debt and increased costs for education, housing...

Local Brands Lead Race for China’s Savvy Consumers

Rachel Morarjee June 30, 2016
Chinese consumers prefer local brands and Chinese firms are increasingly taking market share away from foreign rivals. New Chinese firms “heed digital trends, adapt to regional tastes and respond to customers’ increasingly sophisticated demands,” explains Rachel Morarjee for Reuters. A report from Bain & Company and Kantar Worldpanel suggests that 26 consumer goods ranging from groceries to...

5 Refugee Crises You May Not Know About, But Should

Devon Haynie June 30, 2016
The Syrian refugee crisis, with 4 million leaving the country and 8 million internally displaced, captures the most attention from world leaders and the media. The world has nearly a total of 65 million forcibly displaced people, and Devon Haynie lists other crises for US News & World Report: Burundi in East Africa with more than 300,000 fleeing to nearby Tanzania, Rwanda and Democratic...

Migration Trend: Young Move to Lands of Aging Rich

Joseph Chamie June 30, 2016
The world’s most troublesome borders for illegal migration have one thing in common – more older people on one side than the other. Large gaps in the median age on either side show a difference of 19 years for Northern Africa and Southern Europe, and 11 years for the United States and Central America. “Age differences between sending and receiving nations are a powerful force exerting migratory...

Australia Foreign Debt Reaches Crisis Proportions

Philip Bowring June 29, 2016
Australia confronts declining prices in commodities, a shrinking currency and net foreign debt that exceeds A$1 trillion. “Servicing the long-term debt problem is an increasing concern, particularly if US interest rates begin to rise while commodity prices do no more than stabilise around current levels,” writes Philip Bowring for the Asia Sentinel. “Direct foreign investment is weakening because...