International Relations

144 Items

Juergen Braunstein: Can Swiss Afford a State Fund?

Flickr/Curtis Perry

Analysis & Opinions - finews

Juergen Braunstein: Can Swiss Afford a State Fund?

| Aug. 23, 2019

The idea of a Swiss sovereign wealth fund (SWF) which could use a part of the country’s massive reserves for investments arose after Switzerland had established in 2011 its currency link to the Euro. Since then various sovereign wealth options have been discussed, from a SWF with a savings mandate to a fund with a strategic investment mandate, a private equity-type fund that invests in technology start-ups and protects against hostile foreign takeovers of strategic companies.

Analysis & Opinions - Project Syndicate

Moore Problems for the Fed?

| Apr. 30, 2019

US President Donald Trump’s intended nominee for the US Federal Reserve Board, Stephen Moore, may end up doing whatever Trump wants, instead of what is best for the economy. Moore’s views on the Fed’s interest-rate policy, and his support for returning America to a gold standard, are disturbing.

Blog Post - Views on the Economy and the World

Moore Troubles for the Fed

Apr. 30, 2019

Of the two men whom Donald Trump had intended to nominate to empty seats on the Federal Reserve Board, Herman Cain has now withdrawn his name.  This leaves the other one, Stephen Moore.

The Senate would have to decide whether to confirm Moore. He has some problems roughly analogous to Cain’s:  he is considered to be under an ethical cloud and he often gets his economic facts wrong.  Cynics might respond that he would thereby fit right in with the roster of Trump nominees throughout the government.  But Trump’s earlier appointments to the Fed have been people of ability and integrity and have been doing a good job, Chair Jerome Powell in particular. Perhaps Trump did not start paying attention to Fed appointments until recently.

 

 

Blog Post - Views on the Economy and the World

The Euro's First 20 YEARS

| 02/01/2019

In Europe, twenty years ago this month, 11 long-standing national currencies disappeared and were replaced by the new single currency, the euro.  Since then, the euro has had its successes and failures.

Let us review the experience of the euro’s first two decades.  Where there were failures, to what extent were they the result of avoidable technical mistakes?  Of warnings not heeded?  Or were they the inevitable result of a determination to go ahead with monetary union in the absence of a political willingness to support fundamental changes necessary to make it work?

Sovereign Venture Capitalism: At a Crossroad

StockSnap/Pixabay

Analysis & Opinions - The Economist

Sovereign Venture Capitalism: At a Crossroad

| Oct. 03, 2018

What the Iron Man-like character is claiming for his futuristic automotive company is not unheard of. On a systemic basis, mammoth institutional investment—especially from sovereign wealth funds (SWFs)—is flowing into start-ups and technology-oriented publicly traded companies. In this case, Saudi billions would help Mr Musk escape the pressures of being publicly listed. SWFs have invested large sums into high-growth start-ups promising innovation and financial returns. In fact, just this month, Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced a US$1bn investment in Tesla’s rival, Lucid, and a US$2bn stake in Tesla. The rise in SWF balance sheets and activity is having ramifications on global efforts to be more Silicon Valley-like, and on Silicon Valley itself.

Display boards at the Australian Stock Exchange flash news of a falling market in Sydney, Friday, September 23, 2011.

AP Photo/Rick Rycroft

Analysis & Opinions - Australian Financial Review

How We Staved Off Recession and the GFC

| Sep. 13, 2018

In Australia we successfully navigated the GFC without losing a single financial institution – although we came perilously close in a number of cases – and without a single citizen losing their saving deposits. We also became the only major developed economy  to come through the great global recession unscathed.

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Analysis & Opinions - Bloomberg Opinion

Trump’s Trade War Has a Bright Side for Canada

| June 08, 2018

Last week was a trying one for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. You may think that I am referring to the imposition of U.S. tariffs on imports of Canadian steel. But Trudeau actually faced a harder issue than the one about how to respond to President Donald Trump’s declaration that trade with Canada posed a threat to U.S. security.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry stands with other Foreign Ministers whose countries are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council following a meeting on January 23, 2016, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

U.S. Department of State

Journal Article - New Political Economy

Domestic Sources of Twenty-first-century Geopolitics: Domestic Politics and Sovereign Wealth Funds in GCC Economies

| Feb. 05, 2018

The present article brings domestic politics into an analysis on sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) that are relevant for the study of contemporary geopolitics. What are the domestic drivers behind SWF creation, and how does a country’s domestic political environment affect the creation of these funds? Using a comparative historical case study on sovereign funds in Gulf Cooperation Countries, this article investigates the effects of domestic state–society structures on decisions about SWF creation and their evolving structure.

Sample financial portfolio viewed on an iPad.

Pxhere

Analysis & Opinions - VoxEU

Democratizing Finance: The Digital Wealth Management Revolution

| Nov. 11, 2017

Despite specialised press coverage, little is known about the potential wider socioeconomic implications of digital wealth management solutions. This column examines how ‘robo-advisors’ offer an opportunity to democratise finance and decrease wealth inequality. These algorithmic investment advisors stand to disrupt the wealth management sector through their ‘low-cost, accessible to most’ business models. However, the entrance of traditional wealth managers into the robo-advisor market could threaten this disruption.