Economy

As expected, the dramatic drop in crude oil prices is having a deep impact on the American Oil industry. As prices for Brent Crude dropped to $44.13 on January 13th, daily industry reports began to reveal the bleak picture for producers and related companies. Despite prices seeming to recover and level off around the $60 […]

The imagined rewards that come with timing markets often tempt otherwise risk-adverse individuals with the prospect of easy money. The same psychology that lures humans toward gambling comes into play when making both personal and professional financial decisions. As tempting as timing the market might be, is it truly the right course for you or […]

President Nicolás Maduro’s desperate effort to sustain the socialist framework he inherited from the late Hugo Chávez in 2013 is careening toward failure. A steep fall in global prices for oil, the main source of the government’s income, has exposed fully the systemic weaknesses caused by years of economic mismanagement.

Let’s face it, companies competing in global markets often depend on their governments for export-related financing and support. With every nation trying to win jobs and promote exports for companies in their own countries, the Export-Import Bank of the United States does the same: it provides the financial scaffolding to support American business interests worldwide.

A number of pundits continue to say how well the economy is doing, that inflation and unemployment are under control, that jobs are being created at a rapid and consistent pace, and that our economy is growing at rates not seen in more than a decade. Depending on your statistics and perspective, that may seem...

As a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, I, like everyone else working here, is cheering that we are finally going to get Net Neutrality. The question I have is this: why do Silicon Valley businesses, companies that depend heavily on the internet, care so much about Net Neutrality, and why is Fox News and many vocal republicans, […]

The recently released report from the McKinsey Global Institute on world debt is an important and sobering look at how little the world appears to have learned from the global recession, and just how dangerous levels of sovereign and consumer debt have become in the interim. If you thought debt levels were alarming in 2008...

The crackdown on high-level corruption that has characterized Xi Jinping’s presidency has continued as the ruling CCP takes steps to address a major contributor to popular discontent, while also providing Xi with an opportunity to purge rivals and consolidate his position. Both objectives have taken on added urgency as the latest growth figures and evidence […]

<p>With gas prices at the pump hovering near $2 a gallon, many Americans are reveling in the belief that this represents a long-term shift to an oversupply of domestic gasoline resources. While it&#8217;s hard to predict how long we will enjoy these lower prices, we all know how volatile the energy market can be. We [&hellip;]</p>

Federal Reserve, the world’s most powerful central bank, has used unconventional monetary policy since 2008 to suppress interest rates, encourage risk taking, support asset prices, fund government debt, and allocate credit. In doing so, the Fed has created one asset bubble after another, harmed savers, incentivized big government, and misallocated credit.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman is bullish on the trade agenda. But his estimate of completing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations in March discounts the possibility that Congress will issue tough demands in its Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation. A congressional mandate to include enforceable “currency manipulation” provisions in trade agreements, for example, would push [&hellip;]

<p>This nation was founded by entrepreneurs who knew that with some sweat equity and risk taking, they could share in the American Dream. But for today&#8217;s young entrepreneurs, that dream has become a nightmare. High taxes, onerous regulations and diminished access to capital has seen entrepreneurs stand on the sidelines waiting for a business environment [&hellip;]</p>

The collapse of the price of oil, turmoil in the global economy, and ongoing upheaval in the Middle East are sending mixed signals for what lies ahead for the U.S. economy, and by extension, the real estate market, even though the U.S. is one of the few countries to enjoy a genuinely optimistic outlook for...

There has been much press about the growth in U.S. exports. And for good reason. Nearly 95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside the United States and approximately 74 percent of the global commerce now occurs abroad. In turn, American companies that become exporters often grow faster, hire more employees, and benefit the U.S. [&hellip;]

After languishing for eight years under the congressional leadership of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, prospects for trade liberalization are once again promising in 2015. With Republicans taking control of the Senate and increasing their majority in the House, President Obama can expect greater receptivity to his trade initiatives on Capitol Hill. But an important [&hellip;]

For the first time since the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, China may fail to meet its real GDP growth target for a given year, which in 2014 was set at 7.5 percent. If the growth figure comes in at 7.3 percent, as expected, Beijing is likely to lower the target for 2015 to 7 percent...

The 114th Congress features a Republican majority that is larger than any since 1928 and ready to flex that GOP muscle. While a Democratic White House could create speed bumps to GOP efforts to advance certain legislative initiatives, both sides have said trade policy is an issue where they might find common ground.

U.S. manufacturing employment has declined from a high of 19.5 million workers in 1979 to approximately 12 million today. And when walking down the aisles of large retailers, few “Made in America” products are visible on shelves. In turn, many assume that American manufacturing is in steep decline. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Stock markets are up then down. The value of the dollar is soaring, while the ruble and many other currency values plummet. Are we headed back to another recession? Didn’t we just get out of a recession? Are we doomed to decades of slow growth? These are just some of the questions being asked these [&hellip;]

No country has received more praise and criticism than China. For the last thirty years, China has become the second largest country in the world. With its surprisingly high growth, it has captured much attention. To some outside of China, it is rather difficult to understand the rapid development. This economic success, however, did not [&hellip;]