MSI

The role of the dollar as a linchpin of the international monetary system is one of the most debated issues in the post-WWII global economy. Agreements on world trade and finance, adopted at Bretton Woods in July 1944, quickly proved inadequate. The system of fixed (but adjustable) exchange rates, a...

Barring major security problems in the weeks and months ahead, jobs and incomes will stay at the top of people’s concerns in the run-up to November 5 elections. Opinion polls show that those two economic variables, and the quality of economic management, have already determined the voters’ elect...

Caught up in a war with Russia, and in increasing trade frictions with China, the current European leaders have ignored deteriorating economies at their own peril. Policies to restore the E.U.’s peace and security are nowhere in sight, and the broadening trade conflicts with China could easily get...

During an Asian forum last week American and Chinese defense ministers met to discuss their strategic and security problems. And with no progress on any of the issues, they decided to continue to talk and establish contacts between their field commanders to prevent “misunderstandings” and "misca...

With a focus on Global South, the war in Central Europe, trade embargoes and sanctions, the Group of Seven -- the West’s key economic and political forum -- will deliberate in its standard framework of “liberal democracies vs. autocracies” during the meeting in Italy on June 13 – 15, 2024. P...

The wars in Europe and in the Middle East, ongoing military confrontations in the South China Sea and nuclear capable ballistic missile firings on the Korean Peninsula are all part of a global fight between West’s “liberal democracies” and “autocratic societies.” There is nothing “hybrid...

Widespread market comments that a 5.3 percentage points interest rate differential favoring dollar assets is the main source of the yen’s intractable weakness is a typical simplification of Japan’s enduring and deep-rooted economic problems. The first symptoms of Japan’s deteriorating economic...

Military confrontations unfolding in Europe, Middle East and East Asia all come down to one crucially important bilateral relationship. Unable to put an end to those rapidly spreading wildfires, Washington is turning to Beijing for cooperation while leveling allegations that China is using “non-ma...

A peaceful and prosperous East Asia is coalescing around a steadily growing Chinese economy and the region’s determination to foster cooperation and amity. ASEAN (ten Southeast Asian countries) and China now represent one-fourth of the world population and one-fifth of the global GDP. That huge an...

It will take quite a bit of revenue raising and spending cuts just to stop the progression of America’s current $1.7 trillion budget deficits -- accounting for 6.3% of GDP. No political party contending for power in next November’s elections has made this national emergency part of its campaigni...