In The News

Trump Tries to Limit Asylum Seekers: NPR

Bill Chappell July 16, 2019
International law protects asylum seekers fleeing persecution in their home countries, ready to provide evidence that they belong to a protected class that includes race, religion, nationality, political leanings. Even so, the Trump administration is trying to impose limits, specifically targeting people crossing the US-Mexico border: “Asylum-seeking immigrants who pass through a third country en...

World's Bond Markets: Bloomberg

John Ainger July 15, 2019
Bonds are generally considered safe investments, and demand pushes yields down. Confronting low wages and low inflation, central banks struggle to raise interest rates. The number of negative-yield bonds is growing: These are worth less than the principal invested when held to maturity. Governments may take on excessive debt as bond issuers essentially charge investors for holding their money....

Saving the Iran Nuclear Deal: Wall Street Journal

Laurence Norman July 15, 2019
Global influence is in the eyes of many beholders. Whether Iran complies with terms of the internationally negotiated nuclear arms deal could determine if Europe is the more influential global power or the United States. The challenge: Iran, anxious about the economic impact of US sanctions, has breached limits on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium since July 1. “European foreign ministers...

Internet Monopolies and India’s Trust Deficit: Livemint

Mihir Dalal July 14, 2019
Regulators with the Competition Commission of India are surveying e-commerce and its novel challenges to competition. “This is the closest the CCI has come to admitting that the present competition laws may not be equipped to deal with the shape-shifting, confounding challenges posed by the nature of internet platforms to competition regulation,” explains Mihir Dalal. “Globally, regulators and...

Why Some People Avoid News: NiemanLab

Joshua Benton July 13, 2019
The internet gives people access to more news from around the globe than ever before. The supply of troubling news is never-ending, and news avoidance is on the rise, reports Joshua Benton for NiemanLab at Harvard University. A 2017 study found the leading reason for avoidance is news triggering bad moods followed by worries that reports are untrue. Anecdotal reports suggest many people regard...

Vaping More Dangerous Than First Realized: Vox

Julia Belluz July 12, 2019
Using smokeless tobacco use is healthier than smoked tobacco, and marketing relies on that premise. But that does not mean smokeless tobacco carries no risk, and public health experts express concerns that the products include a range of additives and aerosol particles, with marketing that targets youth: “[R]esearchers around the world are now scrambling to figure out what impact this new habit...

Global Corporate Tax System: Financial Times

José Antonio Ocampo July 12, 2019
The world’s largest economies can rescue globalization by tackling inequality and reforming the international taxation system. In 2013, the OECD improved information exchange. Still, multinationals, especially digital firms, rely on subsidiaries to minimize taxes with as much as 40 percent of profits going to tax havens. India is among the countries pressing for reform and suggesting large...