It’s All in the Family
Category: Economics
Weak Commercial Real Estate Signal Delayed Rate Hikes
Dramatic declines in commercial real estate soured GDP growth in the first quarter, leading to speculation that the Federal Reserve will delay raising interest rates. Analysts are growing increasingly confident that the Fed will delay its rate hike, with a new report by Goldman Sachs calling for the next hike to be delayed until December.
OECD and IEA May Separate After Years of Dispute
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is the parent organization for the International Energy Agency (IEA). The two bodies have apparently been locked in an internal feud for years, and this dispute has finally led the two bodies to consider a full and formal legal split. Of course, such a split could come with a complicated morass of funding and governance issues.
‘Dog Whistle’ Smear Attacks Dominating Elections in US and UK
In both the US and the UK, politicians are using racial smears and anti-Muslim rhetoric to try to gain white votes. However, the strategy carries risks in increasingly multi-cultural societies.
Within days of his election last week as London mayor, Sadiq Khan entered into a war of words with Donald Trump over the Republican candidate elect’s decision to ban Muslims from entering the US. Trump had offered to “make an exception for Khan”, who is a devout Muslim, but his offer was rejected.
From Land-Grabbing to Land Governance
Four years ago, voluntary guidelines on the governance of land and land tenure were agreed at the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome. This was a response to growing concerns about the impacts of “land grabbing” driven by the global rush for investment in the wake of the food, fuel and financial crises in the first decade of this century.
Intra-Regional Trade Lagging in South Asia
Recent decades have witnessed a growing trend towards regional economic integration. As of February 2016, some 625 notifications of regional trade agreements had been received by the WTO and of these, 419 were in force. However, South Asia is still lagging behind. It remains the least integrated region in the world.
World Bank Announces Plans to Advocate for LGBTI Rights
Concerned about protecting the rights of long ostracized groups that are, just now, beginning to gain legal and cultural recognition around the world, the World Bank Group announced plans to protect the interests of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) individuals.
India’s Modi Courts the U.S., and it’s Working
In the first two years of the Modi government, India and the United States have taken calibrated efforts at the highest political level to transform bilateral relations. It was in this context that the visit of United States Defense Secretary Ash Carter to India on 10–13 April assumed huge significance. His visit symbolised the deepening defence ties between the two countries, with the Modi government agreeing in principle to sign three groundbreaking agreements.
ASEAN+3 Could Find a Friend in the IMF
ASEAN+3 (the ASEAN members plus China, South Korea and Japan) was born from the ashes of the Asian financial crisis and the IMF’s response to it. It’s no secret that displeasure — if not hostility — to the policy prescriptions suggested by the Washington-based institution was a key driver behind ASEAN+3.
Fed’s Confidence Not Shaken by Plummeting Jobs Numbers
Total nonfarm payrolls rose 160,000 in April, far short of the 202,000 consensus expectations from economists and a steep decline from the 208,000 jobs gained in March. “Job gains occurred in professional and business services, health care, and financial activities. Job losses continued in mining,” according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In total, professional and business services added 65,000 jobs in the month, the biggest contributor to job gains. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5%.
