World

U.S. economic growth dipped 2.9 percent in the first quarter of 2014 and is unlikely to exceed 2 percent this year. Projections for the European Union (EU), at 1.6 percent, and Emerging Markets, at 4.9 percent, also remain low, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Nevertheless, Emerging Market projections are considerably higher than...

The court-ordered removal of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on the grounds of abuse of power proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the troubled PTP government that came to power on a wave of popular optimism in 2011. Growing street protests and clashes between the red-shirted supporters of the PTP (and exiled […]

In 2013, U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), at $16.8 trillion, was nearly twice China’s $9 trillion, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). But when adjusting for Purchasing Power Parity, which is estimated to reflect the “real cost of living” across countries, China’s economy is projected to surpass the United States’ later this year, says...

Egypt held its presidential election on May 25, and, as seemed a foregone conclusion, the victor was Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the former commander of the armed forces and the leader of the coup that toppled the Islamist government of President Mohammed Morsi in June 2013. The recently retired military leader won 96.9 percent of the […]

President Xi Jinping has broadened his government’s anti-graft campaign to include former senior Communist Party officials and high-ranking military officers. In an unprecedented move, the authorities recently rounded up hundreds of associates and relatives of Zhou Yongkang, a former domestic security czar who retired from the Politburo Standing Committee in 2012. Perhaps even more surprising […]

Selling more to China has been one of the hottest topics since the beginning of the Obama Presidency. Though exports to China have trebled since an agreement to support U.S. manufacturers was reached in 2005, the trade deficit continues to grow. A renewed push from within China is providing hope for accelerating U.S. export growth.

SPECIAL REPORT—Knowing the extent of regulation in the economy is important because regulation has been found to stymie innovation, depress productivity, raise prices, and lower living standards. However, while several studies have measured the cost of complying with the regulatory burden, there has been no attempt to measure the extent of the Canadian economy subject […]

A metaphor for President Obama’s recent trip to Asia was the widely aired game of soccer he had with a Japanese robot. In essence, Japan made Obama kick the impending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) — which unites 12 economies around the Pacific Rim — down the road as trade talks stalled. How important is TPP to […]

His dominant political position buttressed by gains for his United Russia party in regional and local elections held in September 2013, and a raised international profile for Russia after successfully hosting the Winter Olympic Games earlier this year, President Vladimir Putin has stepped up repression of dissent at home while adopting a disconcertingly aggressive posture […]

In the decade following the horrors of World War I, peace was celebrated at every opportunity. The supporters of a bridge connecting Buffalo and Fort Erie, Ontario, seized upon that tide and in 1927 the Peace Bridge was born. Today it is operated by the Public Bridge Authority. It is ironic that a bridge passionately […]

During the careers of international executives, many are confronted with the important question of how to establish and evaluate foreign distribution strategies and partners. To do this, consider the seven “Cs.” These include commitment, cost, continuity, coverage, capital, consistency, and control.

Elections for seats in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, will be held in April–May 2014. Regardless of which party wins, the result will usher in a new political era as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will step down after a decade in power. He likely would have been out of a job anyway […]

In the wake of the Edward Snowden revelations, many nations expressed shock and dismay over the mass surveillance of their citizens and governments. In turn, on March 12 the European Union (EU) Parliament passed a resolution and new law relating to data privacy. This will have profound implications for every U.S. tech company, as well […]

SPECIAL REPORT—For decades China achieved double digit growth rates. And in the last 30 years, the country lifted 500 million people out of poverty, the World Bank says. Today, China is the world’s largest manufacturer and exporter, and the second largest economy. However, its future is not so clear. In the coming years, the Middle...

SPECIAL REPORT—The political upheaval that erupted after President Viktor Yanukovych opted against signing an association agreement with the EU in November 2013 escalated sharply in February, and the situation is spiraling out of control, with serious negative implications for Ukraine’s already poor risk profile. Yanukovych has fled the country, taking refuge in Russia, while Moscow […]

We can't know yet how the markets will behave in Argentina after the announcements made by the economic team, […]

Political risk has increased significantly since the eruption of a corruption scandal in mid-December 2013. Triggered by the detention of more than two dozen suspects, including the sons of two Cabinet ministers on charges of graft related to questionable real estate deals, the scandal has breathed new life into a popular anti-government movement that had […]

In the space of just 13 months, President Enrique Peña Nieto has accomplished more in terms of economic reform than his two immediate predecessors managed in 12 years. Although the so-called Pact for Mexico — the broad alliance of the president’s PRI, the conservative PAN, and the center-left PRD — is effectively a dead letter, […]

In November 2013, the top leaders of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) unveiled an ambitious roadmap for economic and social reforms to be implemented by 2020. The policy strategy hammered out by the CCP’s Central Committee is the strongest signal yet of President Xi Jinping’s commitment to replacing the existing export- and investment-focused economic […]

The turmoil that erupted in Juba last month threatens to ignite a full scale ethnic civil war. If peace talks fail, a potential genocide may even result. Certainly, political risks for foreign investors and neighboring governments would increase under such circumstances. Given South Sudan’s position as a regional oil producing country, a civil war would […]