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May 20, 2015

Who’s Buying European Companies?

By Global Business & Economics

Who is purchasing European companies? Looking at the five biggest foreign acquisitions of European corporates since 2011 shows that the US are the biggest buyers by a considerable margin, with the China, Hong Kong, Brazil, and Japan following behind.

Brazil China

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May 12, 2015

Two Decades of Sovereign Debt

By Global Business & Economics

Sovereign default is considered to be a rare event. But as the lessons of the past two decades show, they are far from extraordinary. According to the IMF, the main sovereign debt restructurings from the period spanning 1998 – 2010 totaled $117.6 billion. When Greece’s 2012 default is added to that sum, it means that […]

Economy & Business Fiscal and Structural Reform

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May 5, 2015

Creating the Digital Single Market

By Global Business & Economics Program

European E-Commerce is still largely confined within national borders.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

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Apr 28, 2015

Do Sanctions Work After All?

By Global Business & Economics

International Relations scholars disagree about whether economic sanctions are an effective tool to coerce countries to follow a certain course of action.

Economic Sanctions Economy & Business

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Apr 21, 2015

Exit, or Voice?

By Global Business & Economics

In March, the UK, Germany, Italy, and France decided to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), shocking the Obama administration.

Brazil China

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Apr 14, 2015

Who is Investing Abroad?

By Global Business & Economics

While the US still leads the world in outflowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), the emerging markets are catching up quickly. Chinese outflowing FDI, in particular has grown tremendously: since 2005, it increased more than 30-fold in 8 years from $5 billion to $166 billion. While initial Chinese foreign investments focused on natural resource industries, over time the investments have spread to diverse industries like agriculture, manufacturing, and professional services. BRIC FDIs are emerging as key growth drivers for low income countries, improving their business environment, building infrastructure, creating jobs, and adding much-needed revenue to government coffers.

China Russia

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Apr 7, 2015

Is Europe still vulnerable to a Greek default?

By Global Business & Economics Program

Private banks throughout Europe have significantly reduced their exposure to Greek debt (bank, public, and non-bank private sector debt) over the last five years. After Greece came under market pressure and eventually obtained ECB and IMF financial assistance in 2010, most European banks started to rapidly reduce their exposure to Greece. For instance, between 2010 and 2014 French banks’ holdings decreased from $63 billion to $2 billion.

Economy & Business Eurozone

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Mar 31, 2015

The IMF’s Changing Role in Europe

By Global Business & Economics

The International Monetary Fund’s purpose and scope of work have changed since its founding after World War II. Whereas at first the Fund aimed to maintain monetary and exchange-rate stability among its members who were primarily advanced economies, today it faces its first credible challenge to its status as the world’s lender of last resort.

Economy & Business Financial Regulation

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Mar 24, 2015

How Much Does it Cost for Cubans to Access Information?

By Global Business & Economics

When President Obama announced his landmark policy shift towards Cuba, easing the 54-year-old embargo, one of the first companies to announce they would begin operating in Cuba was Netflix. The online video company’s decision was surprising, if only because Cuba’s internet is one of the slowest in the world.

Americas Cuba

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Mar 17, 2015

Who Will Finance Public Debt?

By Global Business & Economics Program

Today, the cap on US government spending (or the “debt ceiling”) is officially reinstated, and with it, the threat of another clash over the national debt. Policymakers will have a runway of just months before they must decide to lift the cap on borrowing or temporarily allow it to be raised

Brazil China

Content

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Mar 7, 2017

The United States Needs Europe And Vice Versa (Pt. 2)

By Lu Ding & Ole Moehr

US economic ties with the European Union (27) generate the largest global bilateral trade flows, worth an estimated $2.4 billion per day. The massive volume of US-EU (27) bilateral trade promotes prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

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Feb 22, 2017

The United States Needs Europe and Vice-Versa

By Lu Ding & Ole Moehr

The United States is the world’s largest recipient of global foreign direct investment (FDI). On a current-cost basis, the US FDI stock was more than three times larger than that of the second largest destination country in 2014, the most recent year from which statistics are available. Despite the current fragile global economy and great political uncertainty, foreign investment in the United States remains strong.

Economy & Business European Union

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Dec 12, 2016

Refer-Ending Renzi’s Government

By Filippos Letsas

On December 4, Italian voters rejected former Prime Minister Renzi’s constitutional reform referendum. The result of the referendum renewed concerns about the economic recovery in Italy, stability of the Euro, broader European economic integration, and rising populism across Europe. In the week following the referendum, global markets have focused their attention on the ailing Italian banking sector.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

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Nov 29, 2016

The United States Needs China and Vice-Versa

By Filippos Letsas

Over the last decade, China’s large holdings of US debt have helped the Bank of China keep the value of the renminbi artificially low. This strengthened China’s competitive position in the global markets, allowing for cheaper Chinese exports and contributed significantly to China’s large trade surplus, which now accounts for about half of the total US trade deficit.

China Economy & Business

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Oct 25, 2016

CETA: Why “Comprehensive” Matters

By Filippos Letsas

On October 14th, the regional parliament of Wallonia, a French-speaking region of 3.6 million people in Belgium, voted to block the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a proposed trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Canada, which has been negotiated for over 7 years.

Economy & Business European Union

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Oct 7, 2016

Europe′s Fiscal Burden in Focus

By Filippos Letsas

The European Union’s (EU) Stability and Growth Pact requires Eurozone countries to annually lay out their fiscal plans for the following three years. The European Commission (EC) then compares the member states’ reports with its own projections and those produced by independent bodies, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to evaluate whether the member states are on track to reach their Medium-Term Budgetary Objectives (MTOs).

Economy & Business European Union

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Sep 30, 2016

Myanmar: Post-Sanctions Landscape

By Filippos Letsas

On the occasion of Myanmar’s State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi’s recent visit to the United States (U.S.), President Obama announced that executive sanctions on Myanmar would soon be lifted. This will grant Myanmar greater access to the U.S. market and encourage U.S. companies to invest in the country. Trade between the two countries remains at relatively low levels (i.e. $225 million in 2015), with U.S. investment to Myanmar accounting for only 0.2% of the country’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Economic Sanctions Economy & Business

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Sep 13, 2016

TTIP = So (Ger)Many Benefits

By Filippos Letsas

As the most export-driven major economy in the European Union (EU), Germany stands to benefit greatly from a robust Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement.

Economy & Business European Union

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Jul 12, 2016

Taking Stock of European Banks: Improvements Amid Challenges

By Nathaniel Rome

Since the British referendum, Europe’s banking sector has come under renewed scrutiny from financial markets as well as European Union officials and finance ministers. A primary focus is on Italy - which has accumulated $400 billion in gross bad loans - and the EU-Italy talks about how to recapitalize the weak Italian banks.

Economy & Business European Union

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Jun 29, 2016

Econographics – TTIP

By Nathaniel Rome

The United Kingdom’s (UK) vote last week to leave the European Union (EU) has raised questions about the future of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). TTIP is a trade agreement currently being negotiated by the United States (US) and the EU that will eliminate tariffs, reduce red tape, and set a new standard for international trade agreements. Following the Brexit vote, US Trade Representative Michael Froman and European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström released statements reaffirming their commitment to TTIP.

Economy & Business European Union