Decline of America: Have We Given Away the Store?
The past weeks of wrenching volatility in the financial markets and the evident confusion in both Europe and the U.S. over how to avoid tipping into a double-dip recession — or a straight-out depression — have once again brought the…
Japan Snaps Back, Moody’s Drops Credit Rating. Huh?
This week Japan became the latest nation to get a downgrade from one of the rating agencies that seem to whizz around the world pronouncing this economy or that unworthy of its previous status. On Wednesday, Moody’s dropped Japan from…
Do’s and Don’ts of a Post Qaddafi U.S. Policy
“American aid, not American troops,” President Obama declared from a Martha’s Vineyard vacation house on Monday as news of Tripoli’s fall toinsurgent forces flowed in. In five simple words, the President described a fundamental turn in U.S. policy abroad – a…
The Unwinnable Afghan War: Get Out Now to Save America
It’s supposed to be the dog days of August, but we find ourselves watching global markets on a frightening teeter-totter and waiting for Washington to cobble together a debt deal that may or may not hang together. More tragically, the…
Asia Becomes More Asian as America’s Power Shrinks
Late in June, Chinese fighter jets crossed into Taiwan’s airspace in pursuit of a U.S. spy plane. The U.S. aircraft quickly exited the area, avoiding the kind ofembarrassing push-and-shove that followed when American spies were actually forced down on Hainan Island, off…
The Big Question for China as Global Growth Slows
Part 1 The investing world awoke from America’s debt-ceiling nightmare this week only to realize that global growth is hitting the brakes all around the planet—including China. “China is not collapsing, [but] it’s notably slowing,” Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff told…
How to Put a Dent in Deficits—and Make Real Money
The federal government and almost all 50 states are constantly searching for solutions to gaping budget deficits. And U.S. corporations are sitting on piles of cash estimated at around $2 trillion. So is there some mutually beneficial intersection here? If…
Now Even Japan Says ‘No Nukes’
Germany did it a little more than a month ago, and Italy followed suit a week later. Now Japan’s prime minister has taken a stand against nukes. “In the future,” Naoto Kan told a nationwide television audience last week, “we…
How the Debt Crisis Could Remake Europe
Maybe now we will all understand why the ancient adage “May you live in interesting times” was intended not as a blessing but as a curse. Last week wasmore than interesting in Europe: It was of historical importance—and bone-rattling in…
Britain Reels from Brutal Austerity–GDP, Jobs Disappoint
This summer has seen Greeks rioting in the streets over austerity measures and now Italians having a bad case of agita as their economy teeters. But if Europe’s nerves are frayed, so are Britain’s. Although not part of the 12-nation…
Recent Comments