The Korea Herald

[Jeffrey D. Sachs] Global development goals make a difference

Sept 2, 2013

NEW YORK ― The world’s governments meet at a special session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 25 to discuss how to accelerate progress on the Millennium Development Goals, and also to agree on a timetable for a new set of Sustainable Development Goals. The MDGs, adopted in 2000, will conclude in 2015, to be followed by the SDGs, most likely for the 2015-2030 period.The MDGs focus on ending extreme poverty, hunger, and preventable disease. They have been the most important global d
Saving Europe’s real hegemon

Sept 1, 2013

MUNICH ― Last June, the European Commission announced its about-face on bank restructuring. The money for recapitalizing distressed banks would now come primarily from creditors, not European taxpayers, with a pecking order to specify which lenders would be repaid first. All of this is welcome, at least in principle. In practice, however, the scheme leaves much to be desired.The problem is that a very long list of exceptions reduces the recoverable assets to such an extent that in many cases it
[William Pesek] Korea faces midlife crisis

Sept 1, 2013

As economists scour the earth for clues on which country is headed for a crash next, should they be worrying about South Korea (KOSPI)? An oddly timed question, perhaps, given Korea’s resilience compared with its Asian compatriots. Even if the region is not on the verge of a 1997-style meltdown, scary drops in the Indian rupee, Indonesian rupiah, Malaysian ringgit and Thai stocks are fueling anxieties almost everywhere. Korea is a rare exception: It has a current-account surplus equal to 4.9 per
America’s new pastime: JPMorgan probes

Sept 1, 2013

Hardly a week goes by without a new report about a government investigation of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and how much money the bank might have to pay because of some alleged violation of the law. The ritual is familiar by now. Details of the probe emerge, then settlement talks get leaked by one side or the other before the case is resolved, perhaps as a pressure tactic or to alert the market so that the final deal is barely news once it’s unveiled. And the outcome proves unsatisfying because the com
A report card for U.S. policy in the Mideast

Sept 1, 2013

Think the United States is fairing badly in the Middle East? Convinced that our policy is chaotic, confused and contradictory, from North Africa to the Persian Gulf?Think again. It may not be politically correct to admit it, but when it comes to furthering America’s core national interests, Washington isn’t doing badly at all. And here’s why.Defining U.S. national interests is a critically important task, and not enough attention is paid to it. If you don’t know where you’re going, the old saw g
[Mohamed A. El-Erian] The lessons of Lehman’s morbid legacy

Sept 1, 2013

NEWPORT BEACH ― As the fifth anniversary of the disorderly collapse of the investment bank Lehman Brothers approaches, some analysts will revisit the causes of an historic global “sudden stop” that resulted in enormous economic and financial disruptions. Others will describe the consequences of an event that continues to produce considerable human suffering. And some will share personal experiences of a terrifying time for the global economy and for them personally (as policymakers, financial-ma
[Robert Reich] Trimmings for Labor Day

Aug 30, 2013

The good news this Labor Day: Jobs are returning. The bad news this Labor Day: Most of them pay lousy wages and provide low, if not nonexistent, benefits.The trend toward lousy wages began before the Great Recession. According to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute, weak wage growth between 2000 and 2007, combined with wage losses for most workers since then, means that the bottom 60 percent of working Americans are earning less now than 13 years ago.This is also part of the explanat
Struggle for equality continues 50 years later

Aug 30, 2013

Fifty years ago, on a hot Wednesday afternoon in the nation’s capital, Martin Luther King Jr. stood in the shadow of Abraham Lincoln and told America about a dream he had.There is no way he could have imagined then that an African-American boy, who was only 2 years old at the time, would grow up to be president of the United States. And that on another Wednesday afternoon, exactly 50 years later, that black president would stand on the same steps of the Lincoln Memorial to deliver a speech in co
Microsoft’s useful life may be near its end

Aug 29, 2013

Steve Ballmer’s announcement last week of his retirement from Microsoft Corp. after 13 years at the helm leaves some puzzling questions for his successor ― about Microsoft’s epic decline, its uncertain future and the ultimate purpose of a public company. Resolving them may well prove impossible. And that’s OK. Under Ballmer, who succeeded Bill Gates as chief executive officer in 2000, Microsoft failed to anticipate or adequately respond to almost every technological innovation that came along, f
[Joel Brinkley] The West must act in Syria

Aug 29, 2013

Sooner or later, the United States and its Western allies are going to have to go into Syria with force, like it or not. There’s little choice.I’m not talking about retaliation for the apparent chemical-weapons attacks that killed hundreds of people and injured thousands more. The Syrians have committed a grave international crime ― and crossed President Obama’s “red line” once again. Some sort of response is warranted, even if only to show that the United States means what it says, and hencefor
Huge economic cost of Philippine floods

Aug 29, 2013

The Philippine government was pleased that casualties from last week’s unusually heavy monsoon rains were kept to a minimum. The economic losses caused by the severe flooding in Metro Manila and its surrounding provinces, however, have been huge.The economy virtually came to a halt ― financial markets were closed, transportation around the metropolis was in chaos, factories in affected areas were shut down, air travel was affected as roads going to the airport became impassable and crucial infra
Bo trial may become genesis of power struggle in China

Aug 29, 2013

The administration of Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping has faced a problem, the settlement of which can never be forgotten in consolidating Xi’s power base. Of course, we are speaking of the case in which Bo Xilai, the former top official of the southwestern megacity of Chongqing and former member of the Communist Party’s Politburo, was charged with bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.In the public hearing of the case held in Shandong Province, Bo thoroughly dismissed al
[Fiona Chan] Fears of Asian financial crisis may be overblown

Aug 29, 2013

The “taper terror” returned to haunt Asian markets last week, spurring investors to dump regional shares and currencies on growing dread that the United States central bank may reduce its gigantic stimulus program next month.They fear that a pullback of U.S. quantitative easing will mean less liquidity going into Asian assets while also raising U.S. interest rates and the greenback ― an outcome that will make Asia less attractive as an investment destination.But a few observers are entertaining
Are hospitals already saving money for Medicare?

Aug 28, 2013

Medicare continues to exhibit remarkably slow growth: a modest 3 percent over the past year. That’s great news, but a debate is raging about whether this is caused by a weak economy (and therefore will reverse as the economy recovers) or other factors (and therefore may persist, drastically improving the budget outlook). Two new studies tilt toward the optimistic possibility. The first, a technical paper from the Congressional Budget Office, parsed the decline in cost growth per beneficiary from
[David Ignatius] American credibility is at stake

Aug 28, 2013

WASHINGTON ― What does the world look like when people begin to doubt the credibility of American power? Unfortunately, we’re finding that out in Syria and other nations where leaders have concluded they can defy a war-weary America without paying a price. Using military power to maintain a nation’s credibility may sound like an antiquated idea, but it’s all too relevant in the real world we inhabit. It has become obvious in recent weeks that President Obama, whose restrained and realistic forei