A near-10% drop in the value of the US dollar since its March high has given rise to two distinct narratives. The first takes a short-term perspective, focusing on how a depreciation could benefit the US economy and markets; the second takes the long view, fretting over the dollar’s fragile..
Read Full Story »
As India prepares to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of its independence on August 15, a growing number of Indians are coming to believe that the battle to preserve the essence of the country born in 1947 is already lost. Many commentators have concluded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s..
Read Full Story »
China is one country which is extremely interested in the outcome of the forthcoming Presidential election in the USA and must be hoping against hope that President Trump would be unseated. Until the time that Trump assumed office as President of the USA, China had a nearly smooth run ..
Read Full Story »
There are few more righteous sights than the paunchy US Secretary of State savaging the People’s Republic of China with his next volley on Chinese territorial aspirations. In July, Mike Pompeo released a statement putting any uncertain minds at ease on where Washington stood on the matter. “We..
Read Full Story »
Silencing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul was a feat of primeval brutality that sent a shudder through even the most hardened officials. The House of Saud, and in particular certain members of it, had gotten a taste for blood. Soon after Khashoggi’s slicing and dicing in the Saudi..
Read Full Story »
COVID-19 has claimed more than 700,000 lives, infected over 19 million people, and decimated rich and poor economies alike. But, even as most of the world faces unprecedented recession, policy responses differ sharply. The contrast between Europe and Asia is a case in point. Both regions are..
Read Full Story »
Following US President Donald Trump’s vow to block US access to TikTok, the popular short-video app’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, has been in frantic talks with Microsoft, presumably to sell its subsidiary quickly before the ban goes into effect. Of course, it is possible – even..
Read Full Story »
US national income and output in the first quarter of 2020 was 1.25% below what it had been in the fourth quarter of 2019, but still, 9.5% above would it would be by the second quarter of this year. Now that US national income has plunged 12% below what it was at the start of the year, what should..
Read Full Story »
A sorry state of affairs has descended upon Australian academic institutions like a suffocating cloak. Vice-Chancellors and their overly remunerated toadies are getting human relations departments to scribble their apologias for sins against the thought. Overt political opinions, notably when..
Read Full Story »
The importance of a reliable and widely accessible health-care system is never more apparent than during a pandemic. It is now painfully clear that countries cannot pursue economic development, and assume that the health system will develop in tandem. Instead, they must do what South Korea did:..
Read Full Story »
Given the stark differences between US President Donald Trump and Joe Biden, his presumptive Democratic challenger, the outcome of the November presidential election will have far-reaching implications not only for the United States, but also for the rest of the world. So should we brace for four..
Read Full Story »
Advanced economies have already spent enormous amounts providing pandemic relief to households and small- and medium-size businesses. The International Monetary Fund’s June outlook estimates that, including fiscal measures and credit guarantees, spending reached approximately 20 percentage points..
Read Full Story »
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – known to Saudis and foreigners alike as MBS – is already his country’s de facto ruler, owing to the infirmity of his 84-year-old father, King Salman. With the king currently recovering from gallbladder surgery, the spotlight is shining even more..
Read Full Story »
By Adnan, KASHMIR: Before getting to characterize life in Kashmir after the abrogation of article 370, I might wish to make a couple of points clear. There is no doubt, the armed dispute in Kashmir has claimed thousands of lives and caused the economy to bleed and has posed serious warnings to the..
Read Full Story »
While the COVID-19 pandemic rages, more than 100 low- and middle-income countries will still have to pay a combined $130 billion in debt service this year – around half of which is owed to private creditors. With much economic activity suspended and fiscal revenues in free fall, many countries..
Read Full Story »
One noisy theme in the Donald Trump Disruption Show in an otherwise chaotic assemblage of messages has remained fairly constant: winding back US troop commitments. The US has fought its complement of wars, bloodied and bloodying. Time to up stakes and head home. It was a message that sold in 2016..
Read Full Story »
To track the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, the United States is relying heavily on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) live virus testing at massive scale. In the most common version of this approach, samples – nasal swabs or saliva – are sent to relatively large labs,..
Read Full Story »
Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown his regime’s real intentions. By changing the constitution to allow him to remain in office until 2036 and incorporating conservative new language, it has cast off its teetering mask of democratic legitimacy. But just as Putin has sought to entrench his..
Read Full Story »
The European Council’s five-day meeting to hash out a 2021-2027 budget and a COVID-19 emergency spending package had all the hallmarks of Euro-summitry: long nighttime discussions; threats by some leaders to leave without an agreement; and a Franco-German push for a deal. Naturally, it all..
Read Full Story »
Today’s pandemic-induced humanitarian and economic crisis represents an unprecedented opportunity to go beyond emergency responses and address our economies’ structural flaws. Many governments’ stimulus and recovery packages are already shaping the future. But leaders across all sectors of..
Read Full Story »
A near-10% drop in the value of the US dollar since its March high has given rise to two distinct narratives. The first takes a short-term perspective, focusing on how a..
