The Lost Continent
Moisés Naím (Foreign Policy) Nov/Dec 2006
For decades, Latin America’s weight in the world has been shrinking. It is not an economic powerhouse, a security threat, or a population bomb. Even its tragedies pale in comparison to Africa’s. If the region hopes to rise, it must abandon its search for magic formulas. It does not make for a good sound bite, but patience is Latin America’s biggest deficit of all.
The Diamond Dilemma
Nicholas Stein (Foreign Policy) Dec 2006
Hollywood's latest take on conflict diamonds isn't shy about pointing the finger at the precious gem industry and its customers. But with brutal African civil wars fueled by diamonds now over and new trade controls in place, is buying that engagement ring as ethically charged as it once was?
Globalization Anxiety
Lawrence H. Summers (LAT) Dec 1, 2006
Global leaders could do more to ease anxiety over economy and security.
Little risk for U.S. as the dollar weakens
IHT/NYT Dec 1, 2006
Pressuring China to allow the yuan to rise is the centerpiece of the Treasury secretary's trip to the country, but is that in the best interest of the U.S.?
The Grand Old Protectionist Party
Daniel Gross (Slate) Dec 1, 2006
Hey, it's not just Democrats who are killing free trade.
Capital Flight
WSJ Dec 2, 2006
U.S. financial markets aren't what they used to be.
China's goods prompt U.S. farmers' cry for help
IHT Dec 4, 2006
Produce farmers have joined forces for the first time, forming a lobbying group to try to influence the farm bill that will be debated in Congress in January.
Nobel laureate proposing loans to rural China
IHT Dec 4, 2006
Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said Sunday that he was working with the Chinese government to bring his Grameen Bank lending system to rural China within a year.
Escape From Wall Street
WSJ Dec 4, 2006
How Congress put Hong Kong and London in a position to surpass New York as a financial capital.
International Financial Physician, Heal Thyself
Desmond Lachman (AEI) Dec 5, 2006
What a difference a year makes in international finance. Ten years ago, the International Monetary Fund was at the height of its powers doling out its money and its boiler plate remedy of fiscal rectitude to troubled emerging market economies in East Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Today, as those same emerging market economies find themselves booming and awash with global liquidity, it is the bloated IMF whose finances are in deep trouble and it is the IMF which looks like it could do with a helping hand.
U.S. officials rule out an "Open Skies" deal with EU this year
IHT Dec 6, 2006
The Bush administration withdrew a plan Tuesday to give European airlines more freedom to invest in U.S.
Hot Air
WSJ Dec 6, 2006
Europe taxes plane travel and bankrolls plane construction.
When the dollar talks back
IHT Dec 6, 2006
Investors remain largely focused on economic weakness in the United States and gathering strength in Europe - which portend a weaker dollar, no matter what anyone says.
China Impervious To US Trade Tactics
Desmond Lachman (AEI) Dec 8, 2006
Among the more disappointing aspects of US international economic policy over the past few years is how little progress has been made in putting Sino-US trade relations on a sounder footing.
Another Flight Delay
WSJ Dec 9, 2006
Airline protectionism is back in style.
Microcredit pioneer criticizes globalization at Nobel ceremony
IHT Dec 10, 2006
The Bangladeshi banker Muhammad Yunus, in a speech at the ceremony in which he was presented the Nobel Peace Prize for his creation of a microcredit lender, warned Sunday that the globalized economy was becoming a dangerous "free-for-all" highway.
World Bank Corruption Strategy: An Impolitic View
CGD Dec 11, 2006
CGD vice president Dennis de Tray has long experience working for development in countries with serious corruption challenges, having served as the World Bank's resident representative in Indonesia under Suharto and more recently as country director for the five Central Asian republics based in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Recently in a speech to the 1818 Society, the Bank staff retirement association, he shared some misgivings about the Bank's current push to get tough on corruption.
IMF work agenda
IMF Survey Dec 11, 2006
Plus: Debt sustainability framework upgraded; interview on IMF financial work; Costa Rica, Trinidad & Tobago; IMF surveillance framework and IMF role; China: growth; Korea: knowledge-based economy; Research conference; fiscal federalism.
Free(ish) Trade
WSJ Dec 12, 2006
Congress normalizes trade relations with Vietnam, but there's a catch.
Cracking the Currency Puzzle
Sebastian Mallaby (WSJ) Dec 12, 2006
How to deal with China's trade distortions?
Goldman Sachs profit is a Wall Street record
IHT Dec 13, 2006
The company's $9.6 billion take will allow it to pay employees an average annual compensation of around $622,000.
World Bank sees slower growth but still rosy outlook for Asia
IHT Dec 13, 2006
The surging Chinese economy will slow over the next two years, but should still remain strong and propel East Asian economic growth amid expectations for robust investment and consumer spending, the World Bank said in a report Wednesday.
The Worth of the Dollar
Ronald McKinnon (WSJ) Dec 13, 2006
The missing link to monetary policies.
No More Protection
Troy Clarke, Mark Fields, Larry Jutte, Jim Morton, Jim Press & Eric Ridenour (WSJ) Dec 14, 2006
U.S. steel makers must learn to compete in a global market.
China and U.S. clash at trade talks
IHT Dec 14, 2006
Though U.S. officials argued that faster change was in Beijing's interest, China countered that it must proceed at its own pace.
The global clash of emotions
IHT Dec 14, 2006
In a clash of emotions, the Western world displays a culture of fear, the Arab and Muslim worlds are trapped in a culture of humiliation, and much of Asia displays a culture of hope.
Behind Thai currency crisis, China's heavy hand
IHT Dec 19, 2006
Thailand's latest currency crisis shows that Southeast Asian countries need to condemn China and Japan for failing to show leadership on currency issues.
Don't rush to join the euro
IHT Dec 19, 2006
Relatively poor, transitional economies should wait until their economies more closely resemble the rest of the euro zone before rushing to join.
No Wonder Bernanke Had to Make His Point
Desmond Lachman (AEI/FT) Dec 19, 2006
China continues to manipulate the yuan to its own advantage.
Paulson Doesn't Label China as a Currency Manipulator
Matt Benjamin and Alison Fitzgerald (Bloomberg) Dec 19, 2006
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson declined to brand China a currency manipulator, concluding that the nation is taking steps to make the yuan more flexible.
Talking at the Chinese
NYT Dec 20, 2006
To ensure America's security and competitiveness Washington has to start on a harder and higher road: saving more, borrowing less, investing in infrastructure and education, and building a safety net for workers displaced by a global economy.
Baht-ty Ideas
WSJ Dec 20, 2006
Thailand's "solution" to market forces it doesn't like.
Lamy: Concluding Round In 2007 Not Out Of Reach Yet
BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest - Vol. 10, Number 43 Dec 20, 2006
Concluding the Doha Round negotiations in 2007 is still possible, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy told Members on 14 December, but only if countries come forward with concrete new concessions early in the new year.
GC: In Speech On Aid For Trade, Lamy Stresses Monitoring And Evaluation
BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest - Vol. 10, Number 43 Dec 20, 2006
In a speech to WTO Members on aid for trade, Director-General Pascal Lamy highlighted the importance of monitoring and evaluation to ensuring that trade-related assistance efforts are effective. The aim was not to turn the WTO into a development agency, he said. Instead, he envisioned a scenario in which the WTO would focus on helping the wide range of existing international donors to better understand recipient countries' trade-specific needs.
Embrace the Deficit
David Malpass (WSJ) Dec 21, 2006
The trade deficit and capital inflow reflect growth, not weakness.