Get In Touch
Our Staff
Feeds
Blogroll
- AfPak Channel
- Ambassador John Campbell
- Amity Shlaes
- Andrew Sullivan
- Asia Unbound
- Claudia Rosett
- Cranmer
- Daniel Drezner
- David Brooks
- David Frum
- Elizabeth Economy, et al.
- Ezra Klein
- George Packer
- Gregory Rodriguez
- Instapundit
- James Fallows
- James Lindsay
- Jeffrey Goldberg
- Joel Kotkin
- John Ellis
- Jonathan Chait
- KausFiles
- Lexington Green
- Maggie's Farm
- Matt Yglesias
- Megan McArdle
- Michael Barone
- Michael Levi
- Mustafa Akyol
- New York Review of Books
- Paul Krugman
- Politico
- Ron Radosh
- Ross Douthat
- Steven Cook
- Talking Points Memo
- Teagan Goddard
- The Interpreter
- The Root
- The Washington Note
- Tom Ricks
Resources
Archives
Categories
Category Archives: Economics & Business
January 19, 2012
ESSAY
Is This The Year That the Dragon Will Roar?
Over the past few months, China’s business and political leaders have had to deal with all manner of protests. Take a look: – January 19: 1,000 people from Wanggang village protest against their corrupt Communist Party boss in Guangzhou, capital … Continue reading
ESSAY
Mr. Wen Shops for Oil
China’s Premier Wen Jiabao returns to his homeland today having concluded an expensive shopping trip across the Middle East. Chinese business leaders, accompanying Mr. Wen, signed (WSJ subscription required) deals with Arab companies worth billions of dollars, but one of … Continue reading
ESSAY
New Outsourcing Destination: USA
For decades, the booming factories and massive, cheap workforce of East Asia has been both the greatest fear and the greatest envy of the growing ranks of American declinists. What, then, are they to make of a recent article in … Continue reading
ESSAY
Wall Street Woes: Poor Hardest Hit
A quick glance at the headlines of any major financial new publication this week reveals that it has been a tough start to the new year for those reviled bankers. Earnings at the big banks are coming it at consistently … Continue reading
January 18, 2012
ESSAY
Global Trend #1: Economic Upheaval
The story would be as familiar to a late 18th-century Londoner as it is to a 21st-century New Yorker: Rapid technological change is fundamentally altering not just our economies but our very lives. If that sounds abstract, the result is … Continue reading
January 17, 2012
ESSAY
Chinese Shopper Shortage Means Trouble Ahead
Look east young shopper: China’s many malls are wide-aisled, well stocked and inexpensive. Oh, and they’re deserted. The FT reports: As crowds shouted and pushed for the latest iPhone in Beijing on Friday, a glitzy mall across the street was … Continue reading
January 16, 2012
ESSAY
Time For More Eurofudge?
The Euro-mess took another turn for the worse over the weekend following news that Standard & Poor’s has downgraded the debt of a flock of European countries, most notably France. Last night markets weakened across Asia as once again the rest of the world looked at Europe and wondered just how those people were going to get out of this debacle.
As Via Meadia readers know, while Franco-German politics are not the root cause of the eurozone’s woes, the deep division between Germany and France over the way a European monetary union should work is crippling the eurozone and has prevented a clear strategy from emerging to cope with the worsening, deepening and widening crisis.
Continue reading
January 15, 2012
ESSAY
California Rail Fail: Captain Brown and the Great White Train
California’s bullet train is going off the rails, and the overseers are running for cover. The WSJ reports that Roelof van Ark, the chief executive, and Thomas Umberg, the chairman of the High Speed Rail Authority, announced they will step down from their posts as the odds against the project grow longer.
The highly indebted, cash strapped state has commitments of $3.3 billion of federal money in hand against the roughly $100 billion that the train is now estimated to cost (the price will certainly go even higher). Voters authorized almost $10 billion in bonds in a referendum, but that was when the train looked much cheaper and more federal funding was available. Since then the cost estimates more than doubled to $99 billion, ridership estimates have been slashed indicating that the completed system will require unending subsidies, and Congress has stopped voting new funds for high speed rail.
Continue reading
January 14, 2012
ESSAY
Mead In German
Via Meadia‘s growing cadre of German-speaking readers will be interested in a WRM column written for Handelsblatt that discusses the Franco-German conflict at the heart of the impasse over European monetary policy. It begins: Jeder schaut im Moment auf die … Continue reading
January 13, 2012
ESSAY
600 Million Vanishes From Greek Bank?
An audit released recently by the Bank of Greece accuses Lavrentis Lavrentiadis, the head of Proton Bank, of embezzlement, corruption, and fraud. Prosecutors allege that Lavrentiadis turned Proton Bank into a criminal enterprise, eventually stealing over 600 million euros. All … Continue reading
ESSAY
Good News
After a year in which food prices rose sharply in many countries, strong harvests in Europe, Russia and the United States are helping drive prices back down, reports the (subscription required) Financial Times. Prices for corn, wheat, soybeans and rice … Continue reading
January 9, 2012
ESSAY
The Surest Sign of Asian Doom
If the declinists are to be believed, it’s a question of “when” not “if” Asia’s growing population, red-hot economies and superior work ethic combine to upend the world system and push a hapless America out of the top spot. Alas, … Continue reading
January 8, 2012
ESSAY
Weak Jobs Boost Skips Blacks
As CNN Money reports, Blacks are not benefiting from the mild jobs recovery now underway, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment for African American women actually declined in 2011, while overall, African Americans lost more jobs and gained … Continue reading
January 5, 2012
ESSAY
Turkish Recession On The Horizon?
Anxious economists and investors have fresh cause for concern as Turkey’s economy falters, stumbling from a peak of 9 percent GDP growth in 2010. The FT’s beyondbrics blog has the story: In what Benoit Anne of SocGen described as “the first … Continue reading
January 4, 2012
ESSAY
Hungary: Friendless and Alone
FT reports more bad news in a dismal season for Hungary: Hungary cancelled a bond swap auction on Wednesday as the forint hit a record new low against the euro and fears grew about the country’s planned bid for International … Continue reading
