Hat tip to Gideon Rachman, chief foreign-affairs columnist of the Financial Times, for providing a plausible answer to the question (Has China won?) I wrote about in the previous post. Easy to understand, argues Rachman, why China might be feeling its oats. It is opening up its economy after having [continue reading . . . ]
It’s winter outside — cold, snowy, wet. But when it comes to the economy, especially as measured by employment growth, there’s a heat wave on the West Coast (aka the Left Coast). Washington and Oregon, in particular, are mucho caliente. Employment in the services-providing sectors grew faster in the Evergreen [continue reading . . . ]
The global economy is likely to grow at between 3% and 4% in 2017 adjusted for inflation and differences in exchange rates. Emerging economies, led by Asia, are likely again to outgrow advanced economies (the U.S., Europe, Japan). That’s the word from one of the world’s most respected and widely followed [continue reading . . . ]
Terrific perspective on China’s growing importance, the coming fight in Congress over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and the standing of the United States in a changed world in an op-ed in today’s New York Times by Clyde Prestowitz, founder and president of the Economic Strategy Institute. He delivers his punch [continue reading . . . ]
For a quick economic update for members of Bellevue Rotary recently, I updated several slides I usually include as a part of my talks and added a new one or two. You can download all of them as a PDF file here. Among bullet points: We live in a slow-growth world. [continue reading . . . ]
How low can interest rates go? I don’t know. Rates hit new all-time lows in parts of the world last week. The table nearby lists yields last week and a year ago on the 10-year government bonds of four of the most important issuers. At 10 years, only Japan is [continue reading . . . ]
I am a fan of the book China in Ten Words by the Chinese novelist Yu Hua (translated by Allan H. Barr). A delightful little book. I have not yet been to mainland China. When I go, I will tuck this valuable little book into my carry-on. It can easily [continue reading . . . ]
The progressive in me cheers the idea that the minimum wage ought to go up. The federal minimum wage, $7.25 an hour, set by the Fair Labor Standards Act, hasn’t been raised since 2009. Good luck feeding more than one or two mouths or making rent in a city working [continue reading . . . ]
I can’t help but think what’s going on in global markets seems like a re-run of what happened in the fall of 2008, when Lehman Brothers failed, banks had to be bailed out and the worst recession since the Great Depression ensued. AP business writer Alex Veiga neatly sums up [continue reading . . . ]
Population of the Evergreen State has grown about 60% faster than the national average in first half of the decade. Only seven states have grown at a faster rate; only two of those seven have more population than Washington. International migration — people moving from other countries — accounts for [continue reading . . . ]
Raising interest rates a quarter point as the Fed did this week does not change the fact that we live in a slow-growth world. Money markets and commodities markets are singing the same song in unison: Almost no inflation, and very little growth. To say that commodities prices have collapsed [continue reading . . . ]
Worried about your Social Security benefits? You ought to be. Whether you are in your 70s or your 20s , the number of workers taxed to support you in our pay-as-you-go social-insurance system are or will be fewer than supported your parents and grandparents. We’re living longer and having fewer [continue reading . . . ]