Dodd-Frank Brings Transparency to Financial Industry

The calls for repealing the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill are more than a little bizarre. It was only three years ago that the whole financial system was at the brink of collapse

China Cuts Its Holdings of United States Debt

China has cut its holdings of United States debt in response to Standard & Poor's downgrading of the credit of the U.S. government

Rise of the Renminbi as International Currency

Over the last few years, use of China's currency for international trade has been growing steadily. Some argue this is the start of a journey that will see the renminbi displace the dollar and become the international reserve currency within a decade. This column asks whether such prophecies are realistic by looking at how other international currencies established themselves

Could QE3 Help the Economy?

While this might be welcome news for jittery investors clamoring for Fed intervention to help boost market confidence, experts caution that another round of quantitative easing wouldn't be a panacea for the ailing U.S. economy

Germany: German Tiger or European Growth Engine?

What is increasingly apparent from the 2011 first half economic data in the euro zone is a widening growth gap between Germany and all other euro zone economies. The growth divergence (real GDP) is most pronounced between Germany on the one hand and Portugal, Greece, Spain and Italy on the other hand

European Union Spending Cuts and Tax Hikes Hurt GDP Growth

A new round of second-quarter GDP figures shows slowing growth in the EU, which makes for a complicated economic situation, as reduced government spending can further stifle growth. Some economists say that, in tackling this dilemma, European governments are focusing too closely on their balance sheets and neglecting to propose real growth policies

Who's Worse Off: Europe or the United States?

To be sure, both the United States and Europe continue to grapple with slow economic growth, the crushing weight of enormous public debt, and austerity measures designed to trim government expenditures. But many of the similarities between the debt-ridden European Union and the United States end there

Global Economic Downturn: A Crisis of Political Economy

The current economic crisis is best understood as a crisis of political economy. Moreover, it has to be understood as a global crisis enveloping the United States, Europe and China that has different details but one overriding theme: the relationship between the political order and economic life

Economists Forecast 2.3 Percent Growth Rate

Economists shared a gloomy outlook for the U.S. for the second half of 2011. They forecast the country's economy would register a 2.3 percent annual growth rate from July to December

Crisis of Confidence: Debt Debate Erodes US Global Standing

Few Americans know, or much care, about the opinions foreigners hold of the United States. This was displayed during the ignorant and solipsistic debate over when or whether the United States will pay its debts

Stiglitz Upbeat About China and Latin America

Joseph Stiglitz is quite upbeat about Latin America, Asia and other emerging economies when I interviewed him extensively about the possibility of a new world recession

Is Japan Now a Good Bet?

In the first quarter of 2011, the Japanese economy shrunk by 3.5 percent. Projections for the second quarter also call for further contraction, but experts are expecting a sharp pickup in growth in the second half of the year and in 2012 as the country rebuilds

Is Germany the New Safe Haven?

Germany, while still potentially exposed to the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in some of the peripheral countries like Greece, has the strongest economy in the European Union

Latin America Not Immune to U.S. Debt Deal

While much has been written about the fact that Latin America's rapidly growing economies are largely immune to U.S. financial woes, President Obama's deal with Congress to avoid a U.S. debt default will have a negative impact throughout the region

Why There's a Disconnect Between Stocks and the Economy

While the U.S. economy is saddled with sluggish growth, a near double-digit unemployment rate, and a housing market plagued by foreclosures and falling prices, the stock market has been booming since hitting bottom in March 2009

Do We Need the Debt Ceiling?

The debt ceiling itself is unnecessary for managing the country's finances, and according to some critics, has become more of a symbolic political tool than a real mechanism for controlling debt. Here's why

European Debt Crisis: Could Italy Be Next?

The latest fear in Europe is that the sovereign-debt crisis could spread to Italy -- one of the largest but weakest economies in the European Union. Because Italy is the third-largest economy in Europe, it is attracting most of the attention

Tax Havens: Shady Deals

In recent years, tax havens have come under increasing critique. They are widely seen as helping firms and wealthy individuals from other countries to avoid and evade the taxes and regulations of their home countries

Financial Rebalancing Act: Stop Worrying About Global Flow of Capital

The global financial crisis has only just begun to recede, but economists and policymakers are already considering its future implications. Has the Great Recession introduced a new economic era? Or was it a temporary shock that will eventually correct itself? The answers to these questions will affect a number of vital economic issues

Globalization and Unemployment

By relocating some parts of international supply chains, globalization has been affecting the price of goods, job patterns, and wages almost everywhere. It is changing the structure of individual economies in ways that affect different groups within those countries differently. In the advanced economies, it is redistributing employment opportunities and incomes

The Secrets of Germany's Economic Success

As Americans fret about persistent economic challenges, particularly high unemployment, a nearly opposite mood pervades Germany. Neither the economic crises in the rest of the eurozone nor the instability in the Middle East has dampened a deep-seated conviction among German business leaders and economists

Federal Reserve Forecasts Weaker Growth for 2011 and 2012

The Federal Reserve reduced its forecast for the U.S. economy for 2011 and 2012. For this year, the Fed estimates that the country's economy would expand from 2.7 to 2.9 percent only

A World of Three Reserve Currencies -- Good or Bad?

Those who snoop around the finance/currency sections, in recent weeks, have detected an interesting debate emerging: namely, a debate among bankers and economists regarding how our world will look should the U.S. dollar lose its peculiar status as the world's only reserve currency and become, instead, merely one of three such currencies

Eliot Spitzer's 10 Rules To Fixing the Economy and Corporate Mismanagement

In a new and short book, former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who made a name for himself attacking corporations while New York's attorney general, says Washington didn't go far enough to reform Wall Street and corporate misnamagement during the 2008-2009 bank bailouts. Here's Spitzer's 10 rules to fixing the economy and corporate mismanagement

Why Copper Is the Metal to Watch

In recent weeks, metals of all sorts -- precious and industrial -- have taken a beating in a major selloff in the commodities market. Experts cite a number of reasons, including speculation, increased margin requirements, and concerns that the economic recovery may not be as strong as previously thought. But experts say the losses in copper are the most troubling

Why DOHA Trade Negotiations Are Doomed and What We Should Do About It

It is time for the international community to recognize that the Doha Round is doomed. Started in 2001 under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and its successor, the World Trade Organization (WTO). Yet after countless attempts to achieve a resolution, the talks have dragged on into their tenth year, with no end in sight

What Standard & Poor's U.S. Outlook Downgrade Means

Investors awoke last Monday to two important reports on the U.S. government's credit worthiness from two of the biggest ratings agencies in the United States. Standard and Poor's downgraded its outlook for U.S. debt to negative, while Moody's Investors Service held its rating at stable

Why the World Caught a Cold When the U.S. Housing Market Sneezed

The world is flat, the economy is global, and on any given day you're as likely to speak to a call center in India or the Philippines as you are to visit your local grocery store. The world's boundaries have blurred, but at the same time the easy and immediate communication of a Twitter or Facebook makes the planet feel smaller and more connected

Demand and Disasters Complicate Global Energy Picture

The global energy picture has become more complicated in 2011, but investors are making some sense of it. The nuclear outage in Japan and turbulence in oil-producing nations is prompting increased demand for alternative electricity sources such as natural gas and coal, though both carry some environmental concerns

7 Problems That Could Derail the Global Economic Recovery

At the beginning of the year, expectations for higher global growth in 2011 were high. Now, a string of unexpected events, unrest in the Middle East and a devastating earthquake in Japan, has cast a shadow over some of that optimism. In the United States, the housing market still looks weak and unemployment remains high. Add higher gas prices, and the outlook for global growth looks less rosy

5 Reasons Investors Should Not Bail on Japan

Japan's economy doesn't show signs of recovering any time soon, especially in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, and amid concerns about a damaged nuclear plant. But despite its hardships, Japan is still a legitimate force in the world economy, and many trade partners depend on exports from a range of Japanese companies. Here are five reasons investors shouldn't abandon Japan

What Happens After Quantative Easing 2 Ends?

The Federal Reserve's second round of quantitative easing is slated to end in June. Experts expect the Fed to finish the program, in which it pledged to buy $600 billion worth of treasury bonds. There has been much speculation about what will happen in the markets when the Fed ends QE2 and the economy is left to stand on its own without any stimulus

A G-Zero World: New Economic Club Will Produce Conflict Not Cooperation

This is not a G-20 world. Over the past several months, the expanded group of leading economies has gone from a would-be concert of nations to a cacophony of competing voices as the urgency of the financial crisis has waned and the diversity of political and economic values within the group has asserted itself

The Post-Washington Consensus

The last time a global depression originated in the United States, the impact was devastating not only for the world economy but for world politics as well. The Great Depression set the stage for a shift away from strict monetarism and laissez-faire policies toward Keynesian demand management. More important, for many it delegitimized the capitalist system itself

Currency Wars: Then and Now

In 1933, the global economy was still mired in a depression. In the two countries hardest hit, Germany and the United States, unemployment was above 30 percent. The United Kingdom, the nations of the British Empire, and a handful of other European countries with close commercial ties to London had abandoned the gold standard in late 1931, leaving exchange-rate arrangements in complete disarray

Currencies Are Not the Problem

Washington is not alone in trying to influence its currency. China continues to hold the yuan relatively stable against the dollar. Japan intervened in the exchange markets to prevent the yen from rising too quickly, and many emerging-market countries have used a mix of similar interventions and capital controls to keep their own currencies from appreciating. However, intervention is a zero-sum game

The Wealth Gap Around the World

Innovation during the Industrial Revolution meant food, clothes, and other goods could be produced faster and better, increasing productivity and enriching the world. But some were left behind. The historic economic boom in the 1700s and 1800s also meant a bigger gap between rich and poor. Branko Milanovic, lead economist at the World Bank, breaks down this tale of financial disparity

America's Corporate Recovery Is More Fragile Than You Think

At a time when corporate profits are through the roof, the Dow has reached 12,000, Wall Street paychecks are fat again, and big corporations are sitting on more than $1 trillion in cash, you'd expect jobs to be coming back. But you'd be wrong.

'Latin American Decade' or Wishful Thinking?

'Will 2011 be the dawn of the Latin American decade?' asked the headline of a Standard & Poor's webcast. When I saw it, I wondered whether the firm was making a big blunder, or I was missing the biggest economic story in the region. The headline was only the latest of several optimistic reports about Latin America's economies. All of a sudden, Latin America is becoming an emerging economic star

Davos Man and the Real World

There was a time when going to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, was a real treat, and highly exciting. Then the glamour faded somewhat as the annual themes became more economic, more high-tech, and less to do with the real international scene

From Davos to D.C., A Crossroads Moment for the World

'Humanity is at a crossroads,' Klaus Schwab said, the World Economic Forum's founder. 'We can either continue to work as lobbyists for our narrowly defined self-interests and keep doing the same old things that got us into the crisis in the first place,' or we can 'act together as true global leaders, with the long term global public interest in mind and at heart.' It's a sweeping statement

The Euro: Until Death Do Us Part

The challenges that the global economy faces in 2011 include not only the normal threats posed by volatile background conditions, but also the possibility of a major structural break-up that might have far-reaching, possibly devastating, repercussions

Latin America's Economic Bonanza May Be Short-Lived

There have been big headlines in recent weeks about projections that Brazil will become the world's fifth-largest economy in five years, and that Latin America in general will become a new global economic star. But there are little-known data that should raise questions about such optimistic forecasts

The Consequences of Fiscal Irresponsibility

The U.S. government is incurring debt at a historically unprecedented and ultimately unsustainable rate. The Congressional Budget Office projects that within ten years, federal debt could reach 90 percent of GDP, and even this estimate is probably too optimistic given the low rates of economic growth that the United States is experiencing and likely to see for years to come