You are at: Home > News and Analysis > Page 7 > Page 8 of 83 Posted: 9-13 Mar 09 W Mattli & N Woods: Watching the watchdogs--The only way to avoid future financial crises is to push for robust global regulatory oversight. The current crisis has taught us, in the words of the Finan- cial Stability Forum head, that we need a financial system that oper- ates with less leverage, has stronger oversight, & is more transparent so risks can be better managed, write Oxford intl polit econ profs, Guardian, 19 Dec 08 Mouse & wo/man: Communication breakdown--The founders of Grameenphone and One Laptop per Child debate the merits of tech- nology in the developing world. Q: 'If we assume that tech will help bring the benefits of the modern world to developing nations, we can also assume that the resources to bring a full complement of that tech to poor nations probably don't exist. Both laptops & cell phones have proven to have dramatic effects on societies.Which poses more of a benefit?,' Good Mag, 18 Dec 08 Markets worry more about sovereign debt: As the financial crisis has unfolded, market expectuations have changed. Investors now see a greater risk that nations with large fiscal deficits may default on their obligations. Although markets still perceive very small probabilities that Germany, Japan or US will default on their bond payments, those probabilities have risen substantially lately, Intl Econ Trends/ St Louis Fed, Feb '09 [pdf] Asia and Australia dominate top 10 best locations ranking for Asian expats: An annual survey, which rates living standards in more than 400 locations globally, finds Singapore as no.1 in the quality of life ranking for Asian expats, followed by Sydney, Kobe, Melbourne and Yokohama. Copenhagen (no.6) offers Asians the best quality of liv- ing in Europe, with locations in Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany in the top 30, ECA Intl/UK, 11 Mar 09 James Surowiecki: Did Lehman Brothers' failure matter?--It has be- come conventional wisdom that Lehman's failure last Sept was the catalyst for a massive flight to safety from which the markets have yet to recover. Now Stanford's Taylor argues that the markets actu- ally did not react that badly to Lehman and that the crisis was really the product of uncertainty about the effects of govt action. This may seem like an academic debate, but it's not. Those who want to con- vince us that Lehman's failure was not a big deal are arguing that the govt can let institutions like, say, Citigroup implode without any dis- astrous effects, New Yorker Mag blog, 9 Mar 09 Jeffrey Sachs: Blame for the global crisis (letter to editor)--Krugman repeats the claim that Asia caused the global crisis by oversaving. He writes that after the Asian financial crisis of '97-'98, Asian emerging economies amassed 'huge war chests of foreign assets' & that 'most of that money went to the US - hence our giant trade deficit.'But the numbers don't add up, NYT(free registr reqd), 7 Mar 09 (Krugman) US pushes coordinated response to global economic meltdown: With a meeting of financial ministers from the G20 set for this weekend & a summit next mo., Pres Obama on Wed called for greater efforts by foreign govts to stimulate their economies to fight the global reces- sion. But he pledged an equal commitment to tougher regulation of financial institutions, a top priority in Europe and elsewhere. Treas Secy Geithner added that rich nations should increase their financial commitment to the IMF by as much as $500B so that it has enough funds to help crisis-hit poorer nations, Chicago Tribune, 12 Mar 09 Amartya Sen: Capitalism beyond the crisis--'08 was a year of crises. First, we had a food crisis, threatening poor consumers esp in Africa. Along with that came a record increase in oil prices, threatening all oil importers. Then, rather suddenly, came the global downturn, and '09 seems likely to see its sharp intensification. The question that arises most forcefully now concerns the nature of capitalism and whether it needs to be changed, says Nobel laureate, NY Review of Books, 6 Mar 09 Global financial crisis threatens Africa's economic successes: The Fund warned Mon on the eve of a high-level conference on Africa that a slow global economy, falling commodity prices & tighter credit markets are seriously threatening Africa's economies, IMF, 9 Mar 09 (Confabs in Dar es Salaam and London) Crisis reveals developing nations face $270-700B financing gap: With the global economy likely to shrink this year for the first time since WW2 & world trade on track to record its largest decline in 80 years, poorer nations face a financing shortfall as private sector cred- itors shun emerging markets, & only a quarter of the most vulnerable nanations have the resources to prevent a rise in poverty, acc to a new study, World Bank, 8 Mar 09 Fund urges rethink of global systemic risk: In the 1st comprehensive study of the global financial crisis, the Fund takes stock of the initial lessons learnt and presses for a worldwide rethink of how to handle systemic risk. To look past blame in the crisis, it is useful to ask why policy makers failed to heed the looming threat, acc to the report, which will feed into the G20 London summit, IMF Survey Mag, 6 Mar 09 (For crisis-hit nations, a sharp rise in govt debt) Posted: 2-6 Mar 09 New indicator tracks gender inequality in developing nations: A new index measures discrimination that restricts women�s ability to access resources.Complementing existing indexes, the Social Institutions and Gender Index introduces a new measure - social institutions as the key determinant of gender equality. It draws on 12 variables relating to household behavior and social norms in 102 developing nations, OECD, 3 Mar 09 (WEF's Gender Gap Index | This Sun, 8 Mar, is Intl Women's Day--Ed.) Martin Feldstein: Fall in US household wealth likely to spur a long recession--Although the fiscal stimulus package will give a temporary boost to activity sometime this summer, the common forecast that a sustained recovery will begin in the 2nd half of '09 will almost cer- tainly prove to be overly optimistic, says fmr CEA chair, Proj Syn-dicate (courtesy Taipei Times), 3 Mar 09 China to maintain growth despite 'most difficult year': China will maintain its target of 8% growth for '09 despite facing its 'most diffi- cult year' economically since the turn of the century, the nation's premier said. However, hopes that he would unveil a fresh stimulus package, which had buoyed world stock markets over the last two days, were not fulfilled, Telegraph, 5 Mar 09 Ricardo Caballero: A 'deal' mentality is bad macroeconomics--'Are we getting a good deal for the taxpayer in this transaction?' is not the right question to ask. Instead, the right question is 'What is the best solution that will enable us to recover as soon as possible?' Squeez- ing current stakeholders for political appearance is short-sighted and self-defeating. Until the systemic panic is alleviated, the crisis will continue. We are running out of time, says MIT economist, VoxEU, 5 Mar 09 New travel & tourism report focuses on difficulties facing the sector: Switzerland, Austria and Germany have the most attractive environ- ments for developing the travel & tourism industry, according to the 3rd annual T & T Competitiveness Report released Wed. France, Canada, Spain, Sweden, US, Australia & Singapore complete the top 10 among 133 economies, World Econ Forum, 4 Mar 09 (Country rankings [pdf]) Portfolio: Warren Buffett's letter to Berkshire shareholders--The 1st page of this letter,which records both the 44-year track record of our company's book value and the S&P 100 index, shows that '08 was the worst year for each. By the 4th qtr, a freefall in biz activity had ensued, accelerating at a pace that I have never before witnessed. The US - and much of the world - became trapped in a vicious neg- ative-feedback cycle. Like it or not, Wall St, Main St and the various Side Sts of America were all in the same boat, Berkshire Hathaway, 27 Feb 09 [pdf] Inside Obama's economic war room: With a fast and furious start, the president's team is launching trillion-dollar programs to rescue the economy and remake the face of America. But will they get it right? We went behind the scenes where his advisors are waging war on the recession, Fortune, 13 Feb 09 (Article) When will the recession be over?: When, exactly, will the misery end? When can we expect to see the economy turn around? We asked 11 experts to hazard a guess, including J Grant, S Roach, M Spence, W Poole, A Blinder, K Hasset, C Reinhart and N Roubini, among others, NY Times (free registr reqd), 28 Feb 09 Third wave of global crisis hits poorest nations: After hitting first the advanced economies and then the emerging economies, a third wave from the global financial crisis is now hitting the world's poorest and most vulnerable nations, the IMF chief warned Tues. He called on the international community to act urgently and generously to avoid the potentially devastating effects of this crisis on the most vulner- able nations, IMF, 3 Mar 09 (Brookings) Nook & cranny: Amartya Sen -- In sum, not everything adds up: Mathematical reasoning has a remarkably large role in some social sciences, esp in economics. Yet there is an old and ongoing debate on whether the use of math enriches economics or impoverishes it. Both claims are to some extent correct. A wonderful festival of math this weekend is a good occasion to examine why this is so, writes Nobel laureate, Guardian, 15 Mar 08 (Today, 4 Mar, is World Math Day--Ed.) Newsroom: Foundation holds first-ever economics bloggers forum--Economics experts speak out on public policy, entrepreneurship and the challenges of print journalism, Kauffman Found., 27 Feb 09 China is now a global R&D player, but needs further reform to fos- ter domestic innovation: A new report confirms that China is now a global player in research & development. It spends as much as Ger- many on R&D, & accounts for a similar share in worldwide sci/tech publications. Yet it lags in innovation capability compared to OECD nations with similar R&D investment. Foreign investment in R&D, which has grown rapidly recently, plays a significant role in China, OECD, 12 Sep 08 (Exec sum) Bank accelerating Gaza reconstruction efforts: Ahead of an intl donors conference in Egypt, a new report aims to assist in choosing the most effective means for providing financial support to Gaza. While encouraging donors to channel funds through the Palest. Auth. budget, the report points to other efficient mechanisms available to those seeking alternatives. But it emphasizes that implementation will only be possible if the restrictions blocking the predictable entry of basic materials and cash into Gaza are lifted, World Bank, 1 Mar 09 Southeast Asia pledge enhanced integration, opposes protectionism: The leaders of the Assn of SEAsian Nations (Asean) agreed Sun to jointly fight protectionism and speed up regional integration in res- ponse to the global financial crisis. The Thai PM, as Asean chair this year, will attend the G20 April summit in London.Indonesia, a mem- ber of both Asean and G20, will also attend the summit, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (courtesy M&C), 1 Mar 09 Posted: 23-27 Feb 09 Colin Bradford: The G force--The intl economic crisis has catapulted a new group of nations to public awareness. Gone are the fireside chats of G8 nations, welcome to the G20.The agenda for its London summit is demanding, the expectations daunting; but at least it is more representative, says Brookings senior fellow, World Today, Mar '09 [pdf] Eastern Europe banks get bail-out: The banking sectors in Central and Eastern Europe are to get a 24.5B euro ($31B) rescue package to support them in the economic crisis. The European Bank for Re- construction and Devt, European Investment Bank and World Bank have pledged the investment, BBC News, 27 Feb 09 (WB--Europe urged to protect East European econ gains | Bank aiding global bank recapitalization) Mouse & wo/man: Global e-govt survey -- The survey assesses the e-government readiness of the 192 UN member states according to a quantitative composite index of e-readiness based on website assess- ment, telecommunication infrastructure, and human resource endow- ment, UN, Jan '08 (Highlights) Bank nationalization is the 'wrong strategy' - Geithner: In a Q&A with Jim Lehrer, Treasury Secy Geithner details the Obama admin's economic recovery plan and clarifies how the govt plans to address the banking crisis, PBS NewsHour, 25 Feb 09 Labor law reform key to economic recovery: 39 prominent econo- mists, incl 2 Nobel laureates, have signed a statement in favor of the Employee Free Choice Act, which appears as a full-page ad in the Wash. Post: 'A rising tide lifts all boats only when labor and manage- ment bargain on relatively equal terms. In recent decades, most bar- gaining power has resided with management. The current recession will further weaken the ability of workers to bargain individually. More than ever, workers will need to act together,' Economic Policy Inst, 25 Feb 09 [pdf] Daron Acemoglu: The growth imperative--Missing from the discus- sion of the economic crisis is the most important variable of all. The impact of the stimulus and bailout plans on long-run econ growth has received little attention so far. This is unfortunate, notes MIT author of Intro to Modern Econ Growth, American Mag, 24 Feb 09 Confront the challenges - Obama: As Pres Obama addressed a joint session of Congress Tues, he had 2 main jobs to accomplish on the economic front. First, he had to acknowledge the scope of the econ crisis. Then he needed to offer a broad-brush preview of the budget he plans to submit Thu, even as he showed a credible commitment to tackle a growing budget deficit. Throughout, he saw his main job as bucking up the American people without sounding too Pollyanna-ish, Business Week, 25 Feb 09GMT Benchmarking innovation and competitiveness: Many nations no longer compete mainly on low costs,but instead compete on the basis of innovation and knowledge as they seek to create, grow and attract high value-added firms. A report to be released today assesses na- tions' innovation-based global competitiveness using 16 indicators (in 6 categories), focusing on US and Europe in a comparison of 40 na- tions/regions incl a no. of emerging markets, IT Innovation Found, 25 Feb 09 (Country rankings, incl link to report) Financial stability requires understanding and regulating risk: The Nobel laureate Michael Spence remembers precisely where he was when the credit markets ground to a halt, triggering the latest bout of financial turmoil, Telegraph, 13 Oct 08 (Finance & Devt, Dec '08--Q&A with Spence on 'the catch-up game') Britain invites Africa, poorer Asia nations to G20: Representatives from Africa and poorer Asian nations have been asked to attend the G20 financial crisis summit in London on 2 April, British PM Brown said. He has invited the chairs of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad), the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), and the African Union (AU) Commission. That will give a voice at the meeting of leading developed and emerging economies to less wealthy nations across Africa and Asia, Reuters (courtesy Polity/S Africa), 20 Feb 09 Sound policies, support can help Africa ride crisis: The IMF chief said Africa will not be spared the consequences of the global crisis and that the significant gains many nations have made in recent years in the fight vs poverty are now at risk. Sub-Saharan Africa is being affected by the global downturn through a fall in import demand from key markets such as Europe, US & Asia, and through a slump in commodity prices and scarcer financial flows, IMF Survey Mag, 20 Feb 09 Calestous Juma: Learn to earn--Innovation is at the center of econo- mic growth. The challenge, however, is not so much to build from scratch as to use expanding technological opportunities to the devel- oping nations' advantage. Those seeking to emulate the newly indus- trialized nations should note that their rapid econ transformation has depended on several key factors: building basic infrastructure, invest- ing in higher education, encouraging private enterprise and tapping the global market, says Harvard sci/tech prof, Nature, 30 Oct 08 Jeffrey Sachs: The economic need for stable policies, not a stimulus: The US political-economic system gives evidence of a phenomenon known as 'instrument instability'. Policy makers at the Fed and the White House are attempting to use highly imperfect monetary and fiscal policies to stabilize the economy.The result, however, has been ever-more desperate swings in econ policies in the attempt to prevent recessions that cannot be fully eliminated, writes Columbia U econo- mist, Scientific American, Feb '09 Coffee/tea break: Bollywood triumph -- 'Slumdog' claims 8 Oscars: The low-budget production was a merger of India's brisk Bollywood movie industry & the global marketing reach of Hollywood. It start- ed as an unlikely candidate for the sort of recognition it has garnered, presenting a cast of unknowns and a Dickensian tale of an Indian orphan rising above his street-urchin roots. Though set in a foreign land, the film tells a universal story of optimism that has been eager- ly embraced by audiences, AP(courtesy Herald de Paris), 23 Feb 09 (Guardian, Oct '08--Bollywood speaks to new audience in English) Ricardo Caballero: A capital-less financial system--The conventional advice for distressed fin institutions is to deleverage and raise capital. While this is sound advice when dealing with a single institution in trouble, this is exactly the opposite of what we need at this juncture of a massive systemic crisis. Forcing institutions to raise capital, be it private or public, at panic-driven fire-sale prices threatens enormous dilutions to already shell-shocked shareholders. This is self-defeating, says MIT economist, MIT, 22 Jan 09 [pdf] Posted: 16-20 Feb 09 R Rajan & D Diamond: Banks finding it hard to bite the reform bul- let--One lesson from Japan's experience in the '90s is that the longer officials remain paralyzed, hoping that the financial system will right itself, the higher the eventual cost of the cleanup will be, say fmr IMF chief economist & U Chicago prof, Proj Syndicate (via Taipei Times), 19 Feb 09 Portfolio: Yale's financial wizard says most endowments shouldn't try to be like Yale -- When David Swensen became chief investment officer in '85, its endowment was worth just over $1B; as of the end of June, it was worth $23B.His imitators include private foundations, pension funds & even the sovereign wealth funds of oil-rich nations. With the market's collapse, however, some have begun to question whether the Yale model works as advertised, ProPublica, 18 Feb 09 Crisis hitting poor hard in developing world: The spreading global economic crisis is trapping up to 53m more people in poverty in dev- eloping nations and, with child mortality rates set to soar, poses a serious threat to achieving internationally agreed targets to overcome poverty, the WB says.This is on top of the 130-155m people pushed into poverty in '08 because of soaring food and fuel prices. Almost 40% of 107 developing nations are highly exposed to the poverty ef- fects of the crisis, while an additional 56% are moderately exposed, World Bank, 12 Feb 09 An interview with Harvard's Robert Barro: Q--What do you think about the ratio of spending to tax relief in the stimulus bill; and if you judge it by Larry Summers standard -- that stimulus be temporary, timely and targeted -- does it clear the bar? Second, it seems like there's going to be another round of TARP-like bailouts. How do you think that should be structured?, Atlantic Mag, 5 Feb 09 M Richardson & N Roubini: Nationalize the banks!We're all Swedes now--Nationalization is the only option that would permit us to solve the problem of toxic assets in an orderly fashion & finally allow lend- ing to resume. Of course, the economy would still be lousy, but the death spiral we are in would end.Nationalization--call it 'receivership' if that sounds more palatable--won't be easy, but we offer a set of principles for the govt to go by, say NYU economists, Wash. Post (free registr reqd), 15 Feb 09 Fund advice helps fight financial fraud as schemes multiply: Com- mon forms of financial fraud include 'pyramid schemes' (touted as multilevel marketing schemes) and 'Ponzi schemes' (hyped as invest- ment schemes). A pyramid scheme involves members who pay a subscription price to join. Each member is promised a reward (in cash or kind, & typically large relative to subscription) for recruiting more members. But Ponzi schemes are different from, & potentially more dangerous than, pyramid schemes. Ponzis promise to pay high rates of returns for fixed-term investments.Rather than investing col-lected funds, they initially make promised payouts from subsequent subscribers, IMF Survey Mag, 12 Feb 09 Eastern European markets take a beating: The carnage was pro- voked by reports from ratings agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's saying the situation in the east is grim. Moody's warned that western European banks with significant exposure via local branches in the former Communist nations could see their ratings downgraded. The reports come on the heels of a fresh warning from the IMF chief on the weekend that he foresaw a 'second wave' of nations that would come knocking on his door for bailouts, EUobserver, 18 Feb 09 (Austria pleads with Europe for bailout of east) Nook & cranny: Robert Skidelsky--Portrait: Joseph Schumpeter: He was one of the greatest economists of the 20th century--commonly bracketed with such giants as Keynes, Hayek & Friedman.He is best known for his theory of 'creative destruction'--the view that the cap- italist system progresses by constantly revolutionizing its econ struc- ture. New firms, new products, new technologies continually replace old ones. Since innovation comes in fits & starts, the capitalist econ- omy is naturally, and healthily, subject to cycles of boom and bust. And it may well be that he has more to tell us about the nature of capitalism. At least, that is the argument of a recent book, Prophet of Innovation, writes biographer of Keynes Prospect Mag (courtesy author's site), Dec '07 Deutsche Bank Prize in Financial Economics is awarded to Yale's Shiller: The prize, given every 2 years, honors renowned research- ers whose work has significantly influenced research in fin econ and macroecon. In '05, Shiller was one of the first to identify a real es- tate bubble in the US, & predicted that it would burst & trigger a fin crisis. In a new book, Animal Spirits, co-written with Nobel laureate Akerlof, they make the case for a more active state role in fin mar- kets owing to the existence of the 'human factor'. The first winner of the prize was Chicago's Fama in '05, followed by Columbia's Wood- ford in '07, Ctr for Fin Studies/Ger., 11 Feb 09 [pdf] Cambodia needs to address constraints to future growth, new Bank report says: A new report points out that growth in the past decade has been driven mainly by 4 sectors: garments, tourism, construction & agriculture. By its dependence on these few sectors and on foreign direct investment, it is just as vulnerable to the global recession as its neighbors. While the next episode in this post-conflict nation's story remains uncertain, labor costs remain low vis-vis other nations in the region. And though exports are relatively concentrated into a few products to a few destinations, this leaves room for growth & divers- ification, World Bank, 5 Feb 09 Mouse & wo/man: A 1,474-megapixel photo of Pres Obama's inaug- ural address--It has been 4 weeks to the day since Pres. Obama's in- auguration. We look back at the event with this historic panoramic image by photographer David Bergman at the US Capitol in Wash. He used a new technology to take 220 overlapping images and seam- lessly stitch them together to make a giant, high-resolution photo.Use the controls to zoom and pan around the photo, GigaPan, 22 Jan 09 {Link info courtesy Raul Mirasol/Manila} Report examines economy & social indicators during Chavez decade in Venezuela: The current econ expansion began when the govt got control over the natl oil co. in the 1st quarter of '03, acc to a new report. Since then, real GDP has nearly doubled, growing by 13.5% yearly. Also, the poverty rate has been cut by more than half, from 54% in the 1st half of '03 to 26% at the end of '08, Ctr Econ & Pol- icy Res, 5 Feb 09 Vanessa Neumann: Chavez is not the answer to Venezuela's pov- erty and inequality--Praise for the president flies in the face of facts on literacy and other social indicators, says Diplomat Mag.'s editor-at-large, Guardian, 4 Feb 09 Pessimism about near-term US growth amid deteriorating conditions in labor market - Forecasters survey: The US economy is headed for 2 quarters of negative growth in the first half of '09, acc to 43 forecasters surveyed by the Philadelphia Fed Reserve Bank. 39 of the 43 surveyed say their forecasts reflect the influence of a new fiscal stimulus package, with the package's size estimated at $806B. The fiscal stimulus will begin to affect real GDP growth in the 2nd qtr of '09, and the forecasters expect recovery to begin in the 3rd qtr this year, Philadelphia Fed, 13 Feb 09 << Previous Home Next >> Copyright (c) 2001-2009 Leonardo L. Sta. Romana All rights reserved. |
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