Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Achieving sustainable fiscal policies in the United States is likely to prove more important for the promotion of sustained growth, both domestically and globally, than anything that could be done by China or Germany.
When rethinking the institutional arrangements that underpin their monetary union, Europeans should take note of the California’s experience during the Great Recession.
With divisions emerging within the Group of 20, the big players at the upcoming G20 meeting in Seoul will need to work together to avert a currency war and reduce trade tensions.
These days, Europeans are taking advantage of the cheap U.S. dollar to buy more than consumer electronics or real estate in the United States. They are also gobbling up all kinds of U.S. corporations -- a trend that will be far more permanent, consequential and politically charged than Europeans' widely noticed shopping sprees for gadgets or apartments.
Eliot Spitzer, the former governor of New York, and Klaus Zumwinkel, the former president of Deutsche Post were both brought down by a new system for tracking money that was created in reaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks—but that has since spread its net far beyond jihadists.
Michael Reid, a British journalist who has covered Latin America for 25 years for the Economist and other publications, does not mention "Ugly Betty" in Forgotten Continent, his comprehensive and erudite assessment of the region. But his story line is similar: Latin America, which has long suffered from economic and social ugliness, is getting prettier.
About a year ago Fidel Castro started blogging. Every week or so he posted his “Reflections of the Commander in Chief”. While not strictly a blog, in his internet musings “El Comandante” does what bloggers do: he comments on the news, chastises enemies (Bush, Aznar), extols friends (Hugo!) or rambles on subjects he cares about (sport and politics).
For the next several years, world politics will be reshaped by a strong yearning for American leadership. This trend will be as unexpected as it is inevitable: unexpected given the powerful anti-American sentiments around the globe, and inevitable given the vacuums that only the United States can fill.
While President Hugo Chavez has been molding Venezuela into his personal socialist vision, other transformations -- less visible but equally profound -- have taken hold in the country. Venezuela has become a major hub for international crime syndicates. What attracts them is not the local market; what they really love are the excellent conditions Venezuela offers to anyone in charge of managing a global criminal network.
You can always count on the Olympic Games to provide drama. Next year’s games in Beijing will be no different; they too will produce powerful stories and riveting television. But this time the images will not just be athletes overcoming the odds or breaking records. They will also focus on the clashes between the Chinese police and the activists who will arrive from all around the world.
