Trotz bester Prognosen hat die australische Labor Party die nationalen Parlamentswahlen am 18. Mai 2019 verloren. Für die überraschende Niederlage der Sozial­demokraten machen viele Beobachter den wenig charismatischen Spitzenkandidaten Bill Shorten verantwortlich, ebenso das geringe...

Der Abschluss der Verhandlungen zum Freihandelsabkommen 'Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership' (RCEP) am 15. November 2020 wurde vielfach als wich­tiger Schritt in der Entwicklung des internationalen Handelssystems gepriesen. Dass in dieser Zeit die größte Freihandelszone geschaffen...

In wichtigen Volkswirtschaften zeigt sich eine überraschende und gefährliche Renaissance protektionistischen Denkens. China, Indien und die USA, die drei bevölkerungsreichsten Staaten der Welt, haben ihre handelspolitischen Prioritäten verändert. Präsident Donald Trump warb vehement für...

Der britische Premierminister Boris Johnson ist vom 11. bis 13. Juni Gastgeber der Staats- und Regierungschefs sechs anderer führender Industrieländer (Deutschland, Frankreich, Italien, Japan, Kanada, die USA). Brisanz hat dieser G7-Gipfel im englischen Cornwall insofern, als Johnson die Frage...

The failed WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancún could prove to be a watershed for the global trade system. After this debacle, the WTO faces an uncertain future. The United States are unabashedly pointing out the alternatives, in particular bilateral free trade agreements. If a plethora of new...

Liberalization of international capital transactions has increased the options available to investors. Today the local bank is no longer the only place to keep money; savers can choose between a wealth of options in international financial markets. One side-effect of the internationalization of...

The World Trade Organization, the WTO, was established more than 10 years ago and at first glance the utility of this multilateral organization is beyond question. Since 1996 it has added 35 new member states and an additional 30 countries are preparing for membership. At the same time, however,...

The model of a largely unregulated banking and financial services industry subject only to loose controls has been discredited by the current crisis. The American government sees itself obliged to put together rescue packages worth billions of dollars to prevent the collapse of the financial...

Since the world financial crisis gained momentum in recent weeks, politicians have developed a surprising level of activity, considering that OECD-countries have been ignoring the problems in international finance for years. Neither the large capital flows to the United States nor the weakening...

The members of the European Union could use the current crisis as an opportunity to exert considerable influence over future restructuring of the financial markets. How-ever, they can only do this if their crisis management transcends national boundaries. But since the crisis deepened in...