Macroeconomy & Globalization

Banks are rolling out digital products at a dizzying pace—and in the process, reinventing the industry.

Trends | Sovereign Funds & Trade
This summer US Congress passed a law giving president Barack Obama the authority to “fast-track” free-trade pacts such as the multinational Trans-Pacific Partnership (or TPP), which covers around 40% of trade in American goods and 60% of trade in Asian goods.

The recent devaluation of the renminbi by Chinese authorities is yet more proof that currency markets do not go on vacation in August.

CEE Regional Report
The unorthodox policies of prime minister Viktor Orbán may be controversial, but they’ve helped kick-start the country’s economy. Most of the other CEE nations are also mounting turnarounds..

Tariffs on hundreds of information technology (IT) goods—201, to be precise—will be slashed starting next year as a result of a sweeping agreement in July by member nations of the World Trade Organization.

Introduction
Regional wealth funds, free-trade zones and the Saudi Stock Exchange are expected to boost GCC economic growth and spur development—even if oil doesn’t cooperate.

Capital Markets | Foreign Exchange
The surging dollar, falling euro and plunging emerging-markets currencies had a record $32 billion negative impact on the earnings of companies in North America and Europe in the first quarter, according to Scottsdale, Arizona‒based FiREapps, which helps corporations measure and manage foreign exchange exposure.

Global Finance talked with Peter Blair Henry, dean of New York University’s Stern School of Business, about the urgency of bold reform and global trade to help developing nations.

Newsmakers | Turkey
It has been said that ultimately all political careers end in failure, but until June 7, few observers were expecting this maxim to be true, quite yet, of Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Country Report | Nigeria
Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy, but the recent slump in oil prices has halved government revenues. The new Buhari government must now ensure the country’s economic roller coaster ride does not grind to a complete halt.

Newsmakers | Ukraine
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have run high since late 2013, when Russia resisted Ukrainian efforts to move out of the Russian sphere of influence and toward the West.

Milestones | New Zealand
In June, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand lowered its key cash interest rate a quarter of a percentage point to 3.25%, the first time the central bank has cut rates cut since 2011, citing a combination of deflationary pressure, plunging commodity prices and a slowdown in key export markets like China.

Newsmakers | Mexico
In June, Jaime Rodríguez Calderón became the first independent candidate to be elected a state governor in Mexico, winning office in Nuevo León.

Scotland still brings in more foreign direct investment than many larger countries. Last year it again headed the list of top UK destinations outside London.

At the beginning of the summer, credit insurance company Coface issued its monthly list of upgrades and downgrades of country risk.

Country Report | Portugal
Portugal’s economy is booming. Exports are up and unemployment is down. Insufficient capital investment is the last tough nut to crack, and the government is attacking it with gusto—and significant tax reform.

Chile | For years Chile has been recognized as one of the best-performing emerging markets in the world. But a combination of external and internal factors have changed that.

Vietnam | In May, Vietnam’s central bank once again devalued the country’s currency, the dong—the second such adjustment since January.

The European Union is still debating the nature of its common currency, the position of non-eurozone EU members like the UK, and the future of stressed eurozone countries like Greece.  But the situation in other parts of the world is quite different.

United Kingdom | Many questions are still being asked about David Cameron’s dramatic win on May 7. How did opinion polls, which predicted a tight race between  Conservatives and Labour and even a Labour win, get it so wrong?