European Austerity Does a 180 as Lagarde Weighs In
It will not be long before we look back on this year’s meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which conclude Monday, and see a turning point in the global economic crisis. Europeans, who have suffered the…
The 3-Speed Global Economy Puts US in 2nd Gear
When the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank gather for theirspring meetings in Washington this week, there will be no pressing euro crisis to address, and that is more than one could say a year ago. But we could be…
Japan’s Huge Stimulus Plan: A Bold Roll of the Dice
Young Japanese of 23 has never known anything but a wheezy, punked-out, slump-shouldered Japan—a country that has been in and out of recession and deflation since its famous bubble burst in 1990. Now this is supposed to change—big time. Analysts…
Is North Korea Done With Its March Madness?
Another wacky, worrisome week passes on the Korean peninsula. Kim Jong–un, North Korea’s intensely unpredictable leader, has threatened to attack the “U.S. mainland” with nuclear-tipped missiles. He has declared a state of “all-out war” with South Korea. On Saturday, Pyongyang…
The Eurozone Deal Cyprus Could Not Refuse
At last there is a deal on the table to avert financial and economic collapse in Cyprus, a threat to the euro, and bank runs elsewhere in the European Union. At this writing, the terms Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades negotiated…
The Cold War Heats Up Between the U.S. and N. Korea
When Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced last Friday he would deploy14 new missile interceptors on the West Coast to thwart a potential nuclear attack from North Korea, the U.S. was squarely placed back in the Cold War. Hagel was responding…
Is “Abenomics” Japan’s Second Economic Miracle?
Shinzo Abe is proving to be a surprise-a-minute prime minister. This week he will announce his intention to enter talks with the US on a controversial free-trade pact called the Trans–Pacific Partnership, according to Japanese media. It is the latest…
The Post Austerity Way Forward for Europe
Italian voters delivered a hopelessly inconclusive election result last week. But the message they sent–to their political leaders, to Brussels, to Germany, to the global markets–is crystal clear: The austerity policies now in place to remedy Europe’s fiscal and economic…
How a Resurgent Japan Puts Washington on the Spot
“Japan is back.” That was the message Shinzo Abe, the new Japanese prime minister, delivered to President Barack Obama at the White House a few days ago. Obama, in turn, made nice, praising the US–Japan alliance as “the central foundation…
How a Fake Currency War Panicked Global Economies
When Shinzo Abe was elected Japan’s prime minister in December, he immediate announced a $118 billion economic stimulus plan — despite a national debt equal to 200 percent of GDP, the world’s highest ratio. Then he went to the Bank…
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