recession
Reports on recession See all →
Capping dividends and stopping buybacks: Governments want pessimism
Through its policies, the U.S. Federal Reserve is implying that the banking sector is in danger. By curbing dividends and prohibiting buybacks, it will force banks to accumulate large amounts of cash, insulating them against bank runs that may never come. In fact, the likeliest outcome is that U.S. banks will find themselves with too much cash in their vaults and the Fed measures will have only slowed the economy.
Opinion: Ortega’s madness, or Nicaragua under Covid-19
President Daniel Ortega has slowly taken Nicaragua down the path of dictatorship. With the economy in free fall and poverty on the rise, the government in Managua has resorted to brutal repression to keep a lid on social unrest. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit the country, making a bad situation ...
Germany: The exhausted man of Europe?
Formerly Europe’s growth engine, the German economy is now lagging behind other eurozone countries, and could potentially affect growth in the entire region. This poor performance is partly caused by the looming threats of U.S. tariffs and a disorderly Brexit. However, systemic problems, like a lack of technological innovation in ...
Fed-engineered recession may speed dollar bloc’s collapse
The year has not started well for global financial markets. Undoubtedly, one reason that stocks have slumped is that the United States Federal Reserve under Janet Yellen has started to raise interest rates and signaled that more hikes are coming. The hawkish stance of Ms. Yellen’s Fed not only risks ...
Global trends: TPP holds key for developments in Asia-Pacific
East Asia’s geopolitical future over the next 18 to 24 months will hinge on whether the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact is implemented as planned. Last year 12 countries – including Japan and the United States, but excluding South Korea and China – concluded talks on the text of the ...
