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China’s Independence Fantasy
Zachary Karabell 6/27/2009 12:00:00 AM
China is not happy. That's the title of the bestselling book in China. The five nationalist authors say it is time for China to "split from the West," particularly the United States and the Treasury bonds that Beijing holds to the tune of $1 trillion. This desire for greater distance from America is growing: in a May poll conducted by China's Global Times, 87 percent said they were against buying more U.S. debt. Shortly before U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner arrived in Beijing in early June, a survey of leading Chinese economists showed that 17 of 23 think U.S. bonds are "risky," that U.S. stocks pose a potential threat to the Chinese economy, and that the Chinese government should diversify its assets away from U.S. markets and toward energy and mineral resources. When Geithner assured a group at Beijing University that American bonds are a "safe" investment, they erupted in loud laughter—a rare outbreak of rudeness from an elite crowd in China.
Making Sense of Stimulus Spending
6/16/2009 12:00:00 AM
A Republican Party Web site classifies as "fiction" the president's repeated claim that the spending already has "saved or created" a total of 150,000 jobs, and accuses him of "fuzzy math."
Obama’s Risky Debt
Robert J. Samuelson 5/18/2009 12:00:00 AM
Just how much government debt does a president have to endorse before he's labeled "irresponsible"? Well, apparently much more than the massive amounts envisioned by President Obama. The final version of his 2010 budget, released last week, is a case study in political expediency and economic gambling.
GLOBAL ECONOMY
'I Am Dr. Realist'
Lally Weymouth 4/24/2009 12:00:00 AM
Most other economists rolled their eyes when Nouriel Roubini warned in a September 2006 speech to the International Monetary Fund that the global bubble was going to burst. They nicknamed him "Dr. Doom"—and then the hard times hit. As finance ministers and central bankers from the world's major economic powers gather in Washington this weekend, they might consider listening to what Roubini has to say now. The New York University professor told NEWSWEEK's Lally Weymouth why he sees more trouble ahead and what the recovery will look like. Excerpts:
The Real ‘Green’ Innovation
Daniel Gross 4/10/2009 12:00:00 AM
Amid this withering contraction, at least one clean-energy company is booming. The 380 employees of SolarCity, based in Foster City, Calif., are working all-out on installing solar panels on homes, mostly in the Golden State. Business has doubled since the spring of 2008. The company, which has placed solar panels on 2,000 homes, is trying to fulfill 3,000 orders, and has an eight-month waiting list. Selling a big-ticket item (solar installations can cost $25,000 or more) in the midst of a credit bust, and at a time when the mantra "No projects" echoes in the corporate boardroom and the family room, would seem to be a recipe for disaster. But SolarCity is growing—and not because it has made a breakthrough in the design of solar panels. Rather, last year it developed a new model for selling the units, offering them for lease. Outside investors eager to take advantage of the tax credits and rebates associated with solar installation provide the cash, and homeowners are able to buy the electricity produced at a discount. "Customers pay no money down, and they save money from day one," says CEO Lyndon Rive. "People want to go solar, but they don't like to spend $30,000."
THE DIGNITY INDEX
The Best Waterboarding in the Caribbean!
4/4/2009 12:00:00 AM