In The News

China's Steel Industry Is Dominating the Global Market

Peter Pham May 2, 2016
China is the world’s biggest steelmaker, explains Peter Pham for Forbes. The country manufactures nearly half the world’s steel, essential for modern economies and infrastructure. Other Asian nations make 19 percent of the world’s steel; the EU, 10 percent; and NAFTA, 7 percent. As Chinese leaders try to transform the economy toward more services and reduce manufacturing, investment in Chinese...

Managing Debt in an Overleveraged World

Michael Spence April 29, 2016
Debt still threatens the global economy. Debt as an investment in the future, delivering high yields or serving a long-term purpose is not necessarily a problem, notes economist Michael Spence for Project Syndicate. He reviews the risks: high levels of household and individual debt are more problematic than corporate or government debt; slowing growth without inflation could increase defaults;...

What You Need to Know About Growing Extremist Violence in Bangladesh

Nikhil Kumar and Rishi Iyengar April 29, 2016
Islamic extremists are targeting and killing bloggers, foreigners, atheists and gay-rights activists in Bangladesh. The country of 156 million people, poor and densely populated, has been profiled as a potential battle zone by an Islamic State magazine. Advocates for secularism expect the government to crack down on the violent extremists: “While condemning the blogger killings and promising...

South China Sea: The Fight China Will Take to the Brink of War

Peter Hartcher April 28, 2016
China and the United States are competing for military dominance of the western Pacific Ocean and war could flare over the South China Sea, reports Peter Hartcher for the Sydney Morning Herald. Beijing has said it won’t comply with a ruling from the International Court of Justice in the Hague that upholds claims from the Philippines. The United States and Australia are not taking sides in the...

Memorandum to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump

From: Jeffrey E. Garten April 28, 2016
Trade policy is among the issues prompting US voters to coalesce around Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as presumptive nominees for president. Clinton opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership, calling for a crackdown on trade violations and more enforcement; Trump is critical of nearly all trade agreements, vowing to get tough with top partners like Mexico and China. “The problem is not with the...

Indonesia’s Hesitancy on the Global Stage

Nithin Coca April 27, 2016
Indonesia’s President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo pursues trade, but otherwise keeps a low profile in foreign affairs. The country is in line for a seat on the UN Security Council. Widodo has spoken out in favor of better representation for developing nations, but the country has largely focused on domestic issues since the regional financial crisis in 1998 and global debt crisis in 2008. Widodo calls...

OECD Issues Damning Report on Effect of Brexit

Chris Giles April 27, 2016
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development argues that Brexit – the UK leaving the European Union – would be an economic shock with costs. “In the longer term, [the OECD] calculates that more restrictive trading arrangements with the EU alongside less competition, lower foreign direct investment and fewer skilled immigrants, would hit gross domestic product by a central estimate of...