Vietnam Cuts Refinance Rate to 12% From 13%, Effective May 28
Global Macro Channel: Latest Posts
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Geostrategy
Why Chinese FDI Remains Marginal in the United States
China needs technology and know-how. America needs jobs and capital. Why don’t demand and supply meet? Before the visit of Chinese Vice President Li Jinping in mid-February, U.S. Council on Foreign Relations released an important memorandum on “Fostering Greater Chinese Investment in the United States.” Authored by David Marchick, managing director at the Carlyle Group, [...]
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Emerging Markets
Foxconn and China’s Capitalist Revolution
The promises of reform at Foxconn are the latest of many as China painfully adjusts to the inevitable social realignment that comes with a capitalist economy. What is occurring in China now happened in Europe during the transition from feudal to industrial society. That transition is more germane than it might appear at first blush [...]
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Global Macro
Frail Fundamentals, Rising Liquidity: Where to Invest?
The 2012 outlook is fragile, but – in the absence of shocks – most economies will muddle through. Global growth will slow to less than 3 percent. In the developed world, structural issues, modest consumption, political impasse, and fiscal restraint will keep growth below potential. Emerging markets will grow above 5 percent, but below-trend. Yet, financial [...]
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Emerging Markets
India-EU FTA: Where Is Europe’s Trade Agenda Headed?
The internal documents of the European Commission reveal the disgraceful attempts to push for higher levels of commitments in trade in industrial goods and agricultural products, services and investment liberalisation, geographical indications and government procurement under the proposed India-EU free trade agreement. Since 2007, India and EU have been negotiating a free trade pact, officially [...]
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Ed Dolan's Econ Blog
When Does ‘It Will Hurt the Poor’ Outweigh ‘It’s Good for the Environment?’
“Nearly every environmental policy hurts the poor the most,” say Iain Murray and David Bier of the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Writing recently in the Washington Examiner, they don’t limit their criticism to absurdities like federal tax credits for the $100,000 plug-in Fisker Karma (“a bold expression of uncompromised responsible luxury.”) The two analysts have it [...]
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Geostrategy
‘Political Constraints in the Aftermath of Financial Crises’
Political constraints limit the options for rescuing the financial sector after a meltdown: Political constraints in the aftermath of financial crises, by Atif Mian, Amir Sufi, and Francesco Trebbi, Vox EU: Financial crises of all colors (banking, currency, inflation, or debt crises) leave deep marks on an economy. … What exactly occurs in the aftermath [...]
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Great Leap Forward
MMT On the Web
In the past few days there have been a number of posts highlighting Modern Money Theory. Here are two at Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/mainstream-economics-and-modern-monetary-theory-a-family-tree/2012/02/17/gIQAiy6RKR_graphic.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/modern-monetary-theory-is-an-unconventional-take-on-economic-strategy/2012/02/15/gIQAR8uPMR_story.html This story set off a number of interesting responses to/defenses of the MMT positions (to be clear, I think almost all the critiques are completely offbase; if you really want to [...]
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Global Macro
The New York Fed Acknowledges the Fed’s Superpower Status
I have made the case many times that the Fed is a monetary superpower. It controls the world’s main reserve currency and many emerging markets are formally or informally pegged to dollar. Consequently, its monetary policy gets exported across much of the globe. The other two monetary powers, the ECB and the Bank of Japan, [...]
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Nouriel Roubini's Global EconoMonitor
The Uptick’s Downside
From Project Syndicate: Since late last year, a series of positive developments has boosted investor confidence and led to a sharp rally in risky assets, starting with global equities and commodities. Macroeconomic data from the United States improved; blue-chip companies in advanced economies remained highly profitable; China and emerging markets slowed only moderately; and the [...]
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Global Macro
Papering Over the Gold Standard’s Flaws
Pushing for a return to the gold standard as a cure for economic volatility is the new new thing in populist circles these days. Holding out the promise of a kinder, gentler business cycle needs no introduction. Several Republican presidential candidates have embraced the idea, and there’s no shortage of pundits jumping on gold’s bandwagon, [...]
