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82. Libel Tourism: Silencing the Press Through Transnational Legal Threats
- Author:
- Drew Sullivan
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- National Endowment for Democracy
- Abstract:
- The face of media around the world is changing. Traditional media in the United States are shrinking as the industry confronts both an extended recession and the long-term erosion of its economic model. In the developing world, the newly independent media of a decade ago maintain their vitality while attempting to find financial sustainability. The Internet has globalized the evolving media marketplace, and at the interstices of the media and internet businesses, new and exciting media organizations are springing up worldwide to fill needs in such areas as investigative reporting.
- Topic:
- Globalization, Markets, Third World, Mass Media, Financial Crisis, and Tourism
- Political Geography:
- United States
83. State of the Union Address, 2010
- Author:
- Barack Obama
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- THE PRESIDENT: Madam Speaker, Vice President Biden, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans: Our Constitution declares that from time to time, the President shall give to Congress information about the state of our union. For 220 years, our leaders have fulfilled this duty. They've done so during periods of prosperity and tranquility. And they've done so in the midst of war and depression; at moments of great strife and great struggle.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Government, War, Labor Issues, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United States
84. U.S. BITs and financial stability
- Author:
- Kevin P. Gallagher
- Publication Date:
- 02-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Almost immediately after taking office, the Obama administration charged the U.S. Department of State's Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy with reviewing the U.S. Model bilateral investment treaty (BIT). The group established a sub-committee of business groups, labor and environmental organizations, and a handful of academic experts and tasked it to make official recommendations for reforming U.S. investment treaties. When completed, the Obama Administration hopes to proceed with official negotiations with China, India, Vietnam, and possibly Brazil.
- Topic:
- Economics, Globalization, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, India, Brazil, and Vietnam
85. President Obama's International Tax Proposals Could Go Further
- Author:
- Reuven S. Avi-Yonah
- Publication Date:
- 02-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- The Obama Administration's 2011 budget proposals include revenues of $122 billion over ten years from “international tax reform.” This set of proposals is similar to but narrower than the ones advanced by the Administration in May 2009, which would have raised $210 billion.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United States
86. Lawless Policy: TARP as Congressional Failure
- Author:
- John Samples
- Publication Date:
- 02-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The U.S. Constitution vests all the “legislative powers” it grants in Congress. The Supreme Court allows Congress to delegate some authority to executive officials provided an “intelligible principle” guides such transfers. Congress quickly wrote and enacted the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 in response to a financial crisis. The law authorized the secretary of the Treasury to spend up to $700 billion purchasing troubled mortgage assets or any financial instrument in order to attain 13 different goals. Most of these goals lacked any concrete meaning, and Congress did not establish any priorities among them. As a result, Congress lost control of the implementation of the law and unconstitutionally delegated its powers to the Treasury secretary. Congress also failed in the case of EESA to meet its constitutional obligations to deliberate, to check the other branches of government, or to be accountable to the American people. The implementation of EESA showed Congress to be largely irrelevant to policymaking by the Treasury secretary. These failures of Congress indicate that the current Supreme Court doctrine validating delegation of legislative powers should be revised to protect the rule of law and separation of powers.
- Topic:
- Economics, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United States and America
87. Is the recovery sustainable in the US and Europe?
- Publication Date:
- 02-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Oxford Economics
- Abstract:
- Following the worst recession since the 1930s, the US, UK and Eurozone economies have all now returned to positive growth. With the boost from policy stimulus and the inventory cycle peaking, however, this raises questions about the sustainability of the current rebound. The analysis presented here suggests that the recoveries in both the US and Europe will be relatively muted compared to recent historical experience. The US is likely to be the growth leader, reflecting the more dynamic nature of its economy and financial sector. A key uncertainty relates to how labour markets will perform during the recovery phase. To date, the rise in US unemployment been particularly severe when compared to the experience of Europe. In light of the sharp falls in European productivity, we expect employment gains in Europe to be more muted in the recovery phase than in the US. The performance of residential real estate markets also remains important. Home prices in the US are now close to fair value by most metrics, suggesting that the correction in prices is likely to be bottoming out. In Europe, only Spain and Ireland appear to be in the midst of substantial housing market corrections. Commercial real estate markets are also facing ongoing corrections in many countries. While conditions in the US and Eurozone may deteriorate further, commercial property values appear to be stabilising in the UK following earlier sharp declines. The ability of the banking sector to finance the economic recoveries in the US and Europe remains a key risk to the growth outlook. As the process of absorbing credit losses and rebuilding capital is likely to be protracted, the normalisation of lending standards is likely to take longer than following recent recessions. This is a particular concern for the Eurozone, where bank funding is more important for companies. Whether domestic demand in the US and Europe recovers will also depend on whether private sector deleveraging has further to run. The destruction of household net wealth in the US suggests that the personal savings rate has further to rise, whereas there no longer appears to be a pressing need for households in the UK and Eurozone to consolidate their balance sheets. In contrast, non-financial corporations in the US are in a stronger financial position than their European peers, having not increased debt levels as rapidly during the credit boom. Risks around public finances have received the most attention in recent weeks. In particular, the adjustments underway in Greece pose a risk of potential contagion from sovereign credit risk that could threaten growth on both sides of the Atlantic.
- Topic:
- Economics, Markets, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United States, United Kingdom, and Europe
88. Foreign direct investment and U.S. national security: CFIUS under the Obama Administration
- Author:
- Mark E. Plotkin and David N. Fagan
- Publication Date:
- 06-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- There was considerable public scrutiny of the Obama Administration's performance in its inaugural year, but comparatively little focus on one of the Administration's key processes governing the flow of investment into the United States — namely, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Yet, this is a frequent question we receive from foreign investors -- has the change in the administration affected CFIUS?
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Monetary Policy, Foreign Direct Investment, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United States
89. Role of the IMF in the Global Financial Crisis
- Author:
- Miranda Xafa
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Cato Journal
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- More than two years on, the impact of the financial crisis that erupted in August 2007 is still being felt as the global economy emerges from the Great Recession. The crisis intensified dramatically after the bankruptcy of Lehman and the rescue of insurance giant AIG in September 2008, which narrowly avoided a near-simultaneous failure of multiple counterparties. The International Monetary Fund's early forecast of the severity of the resulting economic downturn (IMF 2008a) helped mobilize concerted official action to address quickly and forcefully these extraordinary economic and financial events by providing fiscal stimulus to sustain growth, as well as capital injections and guarantees to ease the credit crunch. Following the emergency summit of G20 leaders in Washington in November 2008, support packages for banks were put together in a hurry in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere to prevent the dis- orderly failure of systemically important institutions and to restore confidence in the financial system.
- Topic:
- Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United States and Middle East
90. Making Choices: Prospects for a Canada-EU Free Trade Agreement.
- Author:
- Joseph Blomeley
- Publication Date:
- 05-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Woodrow Wilson School Journal of Public and International Affairs
- Institution:
- Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
- Abstract:
- With a population of over 500 million, the European Union (EU) is Canada's second-largest trading partner. In 2006, two-way merchandise trade between Canada and the EU was approximately $78 billion and two-way investment reached $263 billion. While these figures are far from marginal, they pale in comparison to the $626 billion in two-way merchandise trade and $497 billion in two-way investment with the United States. In light of these numbers, analysts have argued that there is room for improvement in the economic relationship between Canada and the EU. They believe that the relationship has been significantly under-traded and under-valued. In an attempt to bolster this claim, a Canada-EU Joint Trade Study commissioned by the European Commission and the Government of Canada (GoC) recently noted that Canada is the EU's 11th-largest merchandise trading partner, with only 1.8 percent of external EU trade in this category (GoC, 2008). In light of the financial crisis in the United States, discussions to revive talks of a Canada-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) have begun to garner attention.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, and Canada