RSS

Nicholas R. Lardy | Peterson Institute | October 7, 2008 To date China can, through financial repression - state regulation, which undermines market mechanisms in the financial system - sustain the costs of an undervalued currency. However, by adhering to these financial policies, China's economy may soon endure the resulting backlash: low level interest rates, which drive excessive credit demand, a weak domestic ...More

Murray Feshbach, Woodrow Wilson Center | October 7, 2008 We are too easily impressed by the Russian bear. ++ "Moscow remains bent on ignoring the devastating truth: The nation is not just sick but dying." ++ The population is declining, the economy is totally dependent on oil revenues, and the public health crisis "verges on the catastrophic." ++ AIDS, tuberculosis, alcoholism, heart disease, and smoking are killing ...More

Editorial, The New York Times | October 7, 2008 Given the Bush administration's obstinacy in refusing to take action against climate change, many US states have stepped up to the challenge - none more so than California. ++ California has taken the bold step of becoming the nation's first state to introduce a law intended to curb urban sprawl, and hence commuter travel (automobile traffic accounts for the ...More

Editorial, Wall Street Journal | October 7, 2008 The Bush administration announced its intention to agree to a $6.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan. ++ There are more than 1,400 missiles on the Chinese side of the Taiwan Strait that endanger Taiwan’s security. ++ The sale will help to avert the threat and “fulfill the US commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act”. ++ Taiwan will thereby gain ...More

Thaksin Shinawatra, former PM of Thailand | October 7, 2008 It is time for the "globar" - or "global dollar," a collective Asian bond that could revitalize the world economy by catering to US currency-stabilization needs and simultaneously recycling massive Asian surpluses back into tangible assets in Asia itself. ++ Asia's surpluses are primarily in US dollars, a risky investment in the current turmoil. ++ Asian ...More

Anthony Zeitouni, Middle East Times | October 7, 2008 On Israel's 60th anniversary and the Islamic revolution's 30th, both countries are actually more similar than one may think. ++ Israel fears a loss of power from shifting demographics, and similarly Iranian conservatives fear losing power to supporters of former president Mohammad Khatami. ++ Both countries also feel isolated: Israel, a Jewish state in an Arab ...More

Juliane Brach | German Institute of Global and Area Studies | Sept. 2008 Economically speaking, Arab states have developed at a strikingly slower pace in the last 20 years than most other regions in the world. This is particularly true for the Arab Mediterranean, including Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria und Morocco, which have failed to capitalize on their especially advantageous geo-strategic position "at the crossroads of ...More

Editorial, Washington Post | October 6, 2008 Efforts to address carbon emissions must be undertaken with exigency. ++ Developing countries like China, India and Brazil are responsible for half of all carbon emissions worldwide; their output has doubled over the past two decades. ++ 8.47 gigatons of emissions were released in 2007, up 2.9 percent over 2006. ++ Polluters will not change their energy policy ...More

D. Rivkin Jr. & L. Casey, Advisors to McCain | October 6, 2008 Osama Bin Laden called Iraq the "central front" in his fight against the US - he was right. ++ Obama/Biden only focus on the past; they still think invading Iraq was a mistake, a distraction from Afghanistan. ++ Their obsession misses the point: "The essence of being a good commander in chief is appreciating the connections among these theaters." ++ FDR fought ...More

Wolfgang Münchau, Financial TImes | October 6, 2008 Despite the success of some initial bank bailouts granted by the EU, such as Fortis, Europe is still short of an overall financial strategy. ++ Three things are needed: first, money to recapitalize the banking sector; second, a semi-permanent EU crisis committee to make financial decisions; and third, clear rules indicating when to recapitalize. ++ Sarkozy was ...More