By Linfan (Derek) Zha Budha Ismail Jam and his family have fished at Tragadi bunder, a small harbor on the Gujarat, India, for generations.[1] In the nearby village of Navinal, Ranubha Jadeja and many other farmers use well-water to grow cotton, wheat, and other crops.[2] These fishermen and farmers all worked hard to scratch out…
Continue ReadingScott Hancox, Staff Member Venezuela is currently suffering from a serious economic crisis and humanitarian emergency so dire that it is now being referred to as “the world’s worst economy.”[1] Despite this, there has been confusion regarding the underlying causes of the crisis, exacerbated by Venezuela’s borders which have long appeared opaque to Western sources.…
Continue ReadingWei Cui, Staff Member The U.S. and China are locked in an escalating trade battle in recent years. Before taking office in 2016, U.S. president Donald Trump has complained about China’s trading practices. [1] In 2017, the U.S. launched an investigation into Chinese trade policies.[2] Last year, the U.S. imposed tariffs on $ 250 billions…
Continue ReadingZihan Jiang, Staff Member Since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in 2016, he has complained about China’s trading practice.[1] In order to solve this problem, President Trump has imposed three rounds of tariffs on Chinese goods, totaling more than $250 billion dollars.[2] The duties covers a wide range of industrial and consumer items.[3] And…
Continue ReadingBy Charlie Ryu, Staff Member In 2017, Amazon had a great year; it announced the opening of a second headquarters, inviting numerous biddings from many city governments and officials[1], bought Whole Foods for approximately $14 billion[2], and its stock price grew by 56%[3].[4] However, despite having such a successful year, Amazon paid zero in federal…
Continue ReadingBy Lindsey Schwalbach, Staff Member In the last twenty years a number of prominent sovereigns have defaulted, including most notably Argentina in 2001-2002 and 2014[1], Greece in 2012[2] and 2014[3], and Venezuela[4] and Puerto Rico[5] in 2017. Argentina is obviously no stranger to the sovereign debt restructuring process.[6] Since the year 2000, Argentina has defaulted…
Continue ReadingBy Jiang Bian, Staff Member On May 14, 2017, President Xi Jinping of China outlined plans to fund China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative.[1] OBOR’s official name is “The Silk Road Economic Belt (“Belt”) and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road (“Road”),”[2] and it is a global project seeking to coordinate trade routes on both…
Continue ReadingBy Sean Choi, Staff Member On February 5, 2018, the South Korea Appeals Court reversed the lower court’s decision, letting the heir of Samsung, Jay Y. Lee, walk free out of jail.[1] The decision frustrates many South Koreans who believed that putting one of the most powerful businessman in jail would be an important milestone…
Continue ReadingBy Lauren Fleming, Staff Member Protests held around the world on February 4, 2016 against the ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) were another sign of growing discontent against market liberalization and multilateral free trade agreements.[1] Labor groups and environmentalist were among the most vocal opposition groups, denouncing the erosion of labor standards and environmental…
Continue ReadingBy Toni Ojoyeyi, Staff Member Venezuela has struggled to regain economic and political stability after the death of former President Hugo Chavez in 2013. Today, the country is experiencing unrest and thousands of Venezuelans have crossed into Colombia hoping to encounter work or basic necessities such as food that are difficult to find in Venezuela.[1]…
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