News Analysis Pakistan is going through an extraordinary period of crisis as its administrators jostle to rescue its debt-ridden economy amidst rising political uncertainties and surging terrorist threats. While its people wrestle with hunger and increasing unemployment, opaque loans from its closest ally, China, are complicating bailout negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “Pakistan…

The economic slowdown in 2023 is likely to force workers to accept lower-quality, poorly paid jobs that lack job security and social protection. This was revealed in the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2023 report. The report states that the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic crisis have had a…

News Analysis Beijing announced on Dec. 9 the issuance of 750 billion yuan (about $108 billion) worth of special sovereign bonds aimed at stimulating the Chinese economy. Experts believe the move indicates that China faces a looming economic crisis, but it could give “local governments some breathing space” from their massive expenditures under the zero-COVID…

Economist Nouriel Roubini has warned about an impending economic crisis in the global economy that policymakers will likely not be able to handle. Following the explosion of leverage, borrowing, and deficits in recent decades, the world economy is now moving towards an “unprecedented confluence” of financial, debt, and economic crises, Roubini warned in a Dec….

Commentary If you are like me, you are exhausted of the lies. Every day seems to bring new revelations about how our lives came to be upended. The connections are becoming clearer between the pandemic response and the growing economic crisis, the ballooning debt, the growth of the surveillance state, the corruption and scams, chilling…

Commentary  I have been watching, with horror, the escalation of the economic situation in Europe since around mid-February. On Feb. 21, I published a short Twitter thread detailing the economic worst-case scenario for Europe, if the war between Russia and Ukraine would break out, as it did. The forecast had 10 stages: The West would…

Global food exporter Argentina is struggling to find a middle ground between its producers and government policies—a rift that may lead to even higher world prices for corn, soy, and wheat. Since the onset of the pandemic, Argentinian farmers have been fighting an uphill battle against a surge in government export taxes, severe inflation, and…

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—The sound of dozens of car horns filled the air as thousands of protesters from socialist unions blocked three main avenues in Buenos Aires near Plaza de Mayo in front of the office of President Alberto Fernandez on Aug. 4. It has become part of the city’s background noise in recent months, just…

Groups of protesters marched on the square Plaza de Mayo in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires on July 28, led by professional organizers or “piqueteros” demanding more social plans and a basic universal income from the nation’s center-left government. The demonstrators called for a minimum monthly income subsidy of 100,000 pesos, which amounts to…

Protests have erupted in Buenos Aires over the past 90 days and continue to build inside the capital as residents battle with their center-left government over sizeable amendments to social programs. Cuts to subsidies in the energy sector based on household income already began in June. Other subsidies, including the country’s notorious welfare program, are…