Germany’s 2021 election and why it matters to markets
It’s rare for German elections to be exciting, market-moving events but the one on Sept. 26 may prove the exception if its outcome completes the transformation of a nation long wedded to austerity into a big spender. The election will end Angela Merkel’s 16-year stint at the helm of Europe’s biggest economy, and the Greens […]
Southeast Asian leaders discuss Myanmar crisis with junta chief
Southeast Asian leaders began a crisis meeting on Myanmar on Saturday aiming to persuade Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who led the military takeover that sparked turmoil in his country, to forge a path to end the violence. The gathering of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta is the first […]
The impact of COVID-19 on artificial intelligence in banking
COVID-19 has not dampened the appetite of European banks for machine learning and data science, but may in the short term have limited their artificial-intelligence investment capacity.
Three steps to stop the health crisis turning into the biggest emerging market debt crisis
The servicing and rolling over of the public and private debt of middle-income countries is a major point of COVID-19-induced stress in the global economy.
Fintech can drive a strong post-COVID-19 recovery in Asia
The pandemic has highlighted the power of digital technology. Now is the time to harness this power for inclusive growth so that communities, especially in poor and remote areas, can survive the crisis and thrive.
Farm product prices, redistribution, and the early Great Depression in the US
Like the current economic crisis in the US, the Great Depression led to large redistributions of income among sectors and households. Perhaps most important, falling farm product prices shifted income away from farmers. This column argues that this redistribution explains between 10% and 30% of the US output decline in 1930. Recovery from the Great Depression began in 1933 in part because farm product prices rose, reversing this redistribution.
