World economy

education

And the Next Bubble Is … Education

BEIJING | By Wu Yuci via Caixin Magazine | After the Internet, credit and gold bubbles, education could be the next. Parents afraid for their children’s futures are behind the latest investment fever, and the damage from failed speculation will be immense.



china economy

China’s Economic Apocalypse Averted; Economy on Upswing

By Ray Kwong | China’s economy went from chump to champ in 30 years, with growth rates averaging 10% over three decades. To be sure, there are major downward shifts underway, but predictions that the Chinese economy will go down in flames—whether by crash, hard landing or [your favorite term here]—is crazy. Some detractors even foresee an economic apocalypse, one in which China will repeat Japan’s “lost decade” of stagnation.


india

Tackling Energy Poverty in Rural India

With an annual GDP growth rate of 5.8 percent over the past two decades, reaching 6.1 percent in 2011-12, India has become one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. But is also witnessing an unprecedented demand for energy and a growing deficit in power supply. Government’s efforts to tackle energy poverty are having a big impact, but is it enough?


No Picture

BBVA OpenMind: Frontier Research in Economics

BARCELONA | By Joan Esteban | This essay deals with trends in economic theory over the past few decades. It is unabashedly subjective and partial. It does not attempt to provide an exhaustive panoramic view of current research in economics. Rather, I have chosen to focus on some of the recent developments that have tried to relax the highly restrictive assumptions under which General Equilibrium Theory (GE) had been built over the second half of the twentieth century.


youth employment

What if Teen Unemployment Compromised U.S. economic recovery?

NEW YORK | By Ana Fuentes | America’s economy is recovering at a slow but firm pace: mortgages, the car industry, consumption, all show better figures than last year. However, the last jobs report brings a huge problem on the table: teen unemployment is still too high. More than 10 million youth are unable to find full-time work, and that’s a ticking bomb, experts warn.


euro

Even the World Happiness Report 2013 Feels the Eurocrisis

NEW YORK | By Ana Fuentes | Thinking of moving abroad? You might consider that Denmark, Norway and Switzerland are the most satisfied countries, according to the World Happiness Report 2013. However, Europe has a gloomy side called austerity: rankings for Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain have dramatically plummeted because of the impact of the euro zone crisis.


No Picture

May an intervention in Syria harm the U.S. economic recovery?

NEW YORK | By Ana Fuentes | Barack Obama will give six interviews to U.S. media this Monday to build public support about an intervention in Syria. The White House is using its lobbying skills to make a case for an action that for some analysts could compromise the last good economic data.

 


Prosecutors

U.S. Government: Prosecutors Take the Lead

WASHINGTON |  By PABLO PARDO |  With Barack Obama’s popularity decline, those who are taking the lead are prosecutors. The Justice Department is using techniques that had usually been the domain of criminal investigations to pursue crimes on Wall Street.


Oil

Syrian crisis makes oil an investors’ bunker

NEW YORK | By Ana Fuentes | With the Syrian crisis dominating the G20 summit agenda, investors are expectant about the coming events and looking for the best plan. For many analysts oil is a better bet than sovereign bonds, since crude oil prices could jump more than 20 percent if a U.S. military strike drags other countries into the Syrian conflict.