China May Tip World Into Recession

Forget about all the shoes, toys and other exports. China may soon have another thing to offer the world: a recession. That is the prediction from Ruchir Sharma, head of emerging markets at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, who says a continuation of China’s slowdown in the next years may drag global economic growth below 2 percent, […]

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Who Blew Up China’s Stock Bubble?

In China, the invisible hand of the market sometimes needs help from the iron fist of the state. That’s certainly true after a meltdown vaporized $3.5 trillion in the value of shares traded on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges. Read Here – Bloomberg China Tries Japan’s Approach to a Stock Bubble – Bloomberg View

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The Moral Of The Greek Story

It’s easy to moralize Greece’s feckless borrowing, weak tax collection and long history of default, and hey, go ahead; I won’t stop you. But whatever the nation’s moral failures, what we’re witnessing now shows the dangers of trying to cure the problems of weak fiscal discipline with some sort of externally imposed currency regime. Read […]

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New Military Equipment or Saber-Rattling? Russia Must Choose

Russia’s economic crisis is forcing the government to trim its prized defense budget, and if the situation worsens, President Vladimir Putin may have to choose between his current saber-rattling and buying the new equipment his Soviet-style forces have been promised. Back in 2011, when relations with the West were relatively tranquil and Russia’s shows of force […]

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What Happens If Greek Banks Can’t Open?

The scariest quote for the world economy this week came from a member of the European Central Bank’s executive board. Asked by Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem whether Greek banks would open Friday, his answer was stark: “Tomorrow, yes. Monday, I don’t know,” replied Benoit Coeure. Read Here – The Atlantic

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Alternate Diplomacy

Chinese president Xi Jinping has certainly kept China experts busy since he came to power in 2012. Xi has made major changes to Chinese policies, domestic and foreign. These policies have been quite different from those of his predecessors, keeping China scholars occupied explaining their meaning and implications. Read Here – The Diplomat

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Why Sanctions Don’t Work

Sanctions, particularly economic sanctions, have long been a tool of U.S. foreign policy, and few presidents have leaned on them as much as Barack Obama or been as successful at rallying others to do the same. To thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the U.S. has cajoled and bullied much of the world to slash imports of […]

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Sending Money Home

In Asia’s developing countries, the power and potential of remittances – the money that migrant workers send home to their families (many of whom live in poor and remote areas) – is immense. Currently, over 60 million migrant workers from the Asia/Pacific region account for more than half of all remittance flows to developing countries, […]

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Break Sanctions, Pay The Price

The US$1.92 billion settlement reached between HSBC and the U.S. Department of Justice this past December over allegations of money laundering by the global bank served as a stark reminder to all financial institutions: The penalty for breaking sanctions against Iran and other blacklisted nations would not only be severe, but even the biggest institutions […]

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