Economy

The dollar rose as much as 0.24% to 115.13 yen on Nov. 23, reaching its highest point since March 2017. 
Currencies

Dollar hits new high on yen after Powell reappointment

U.S. Federal Reserve chairman's extension firms bets on greenback

23 November 2021
Central financial district of Hong Kong, pictured on Mar. 11: the choices of intellectual elites are influenced by whether or not governments have risen to contemporary challenges.
Opinion

Hong Kong highlights dilemma facing world's mobile elite

Deciding whether to stay put or migrate is a drama playing out across the globe

21 November 2021
What happens when virtual experiences are so enhanced that returning to reality leads to depression?
Opinion

Metaverse nightmare will strip-mine our fragile human reality

Governments need to act before certain things become irreversible

18 November 2021
In the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which handle 40% of the containers entering the U.S., backups have been observed since this summer, with many ships sitting offshore. (Source photo by Reuters)
Datawatch

U.S. retailers suffer shortages before holiday season

Shipping mess causing grave supply-side constraints at critical time for recovery

17 November 2021
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo started her four-day tour through Asia with a visit to Japan Nov. 15.
Trade

U.S. won't join CPTPP but will seek new framework: Raimondo

Commerce chief says Biden administration ready to cooperate on digital technology and supply chains

16 November 2021
U.S. President Joe Biden's first virtual summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping comes after Beijing's ambassador to Washington warned that China will "make no promise to renounce the use of force" for Taiwan unification. (Photo courtesy of the White House) 
US-China tensions

Biden to tell Xi to 'play by the rules' at 1st virtual summit

Taiwan, Beijing Olympics and relationship management to headline 3rd direct talks

16 November 2021
Tsingtao beer can hardly be found anywhere in New York, even in Flushing, Queens, the city’s flourishing Asian neighborhood. 
Food & Beverage

Disaster in New York's Chinatown: No Tsingtao beer

Shipping crisis means supplies of China's best-known brew are running low

15 November 2021
Facebook wants to make money and maintain its competitive edge.
Opinion

We must limit Facebook's ability to damage democracy

Information technology is changing the world much faster than global warming

15 November 2021
Smoke rises from a coal-powered steel plant at Hehal village, India, on Sept. 26: in Asia, emissions are set to keep rising until at least 2030.
Opinion

Growth in Asian emissions will make cuts elsewhere irrelevant

A climate-based trade war is now likely if not probable

15 November 2021
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, pictured on Sept. 28: the ideal situation would be seeing interest rates remain below economic growth rates, keeping debt servicing manageable.
Opinion

Inflation the key monetary policy variable in wake of COVID-19

With government debt continuing to mount, inflation is the critical variable

13 November 2021
Cambodia's Sihanoukville port: The U.S. will review Cambodia's eligibility for a trade preference scheme vital to its export-reliant economy. (Photo by Vann Soben)
Trade

Cambodia faces hammer blow as U.S. plans trade preferences review

Washington cautions investors over corruption, organized crime and human rights

11 November 2021
The main things holding the U.S. economy back are supply constraints and low labor market participation, says former Federal Reserve governor Randall  Kroszner. (Photo courtesy of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business)
Interview

U.S. rate hike likely by next summer: former Fed governor

Elevated inflation won't ease in just 1 or 2 months, Kroszner predicts

8 November 2021
The spending bill passed by the House of Representatives puts the Biden administration in charge of the biggest upgrade of U.S. roads, railways and other infrastructure in a generation.
Politics

U.S. Congress passes $1tn infrastructure bill, ending standoff

Narrow 228-to-206 vote seen as substantial win for President Joe Biden

6 November 2021
Bitcoin mining is an easy industry to decarbonize because the input is just electricity, and the output is data.
Opinion

Bitcoin mining is an easy industry to decarbonize

Cryptocurrency network does not need to be powered by fossil fuels

4 November 2021
Supporters of Donald Trump gather outside the Michigan State Capitol to demand an audit of 2020 election votes in Lansing on Oct. 12: confidence in election results, the most basic element of democracy, has taken a big hit.
Opinion

U.S. needs to reverse J-curve slump

America has become both less open and less resilient in recent years

1 November 2021
President Joe Biden said the framework, half the size of the original legislation, will be key to winning the "economic competition for the 21st century."
Politics

Biden slashes spending in half, but says $1.75tn plan can beat China

President seeks deal on stalled climate and social legislation

29 October 2021
Japan Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi speaks in a video message recorded for an event in Tokyo on Oct. 23, saying it is important to encourage China to fulfill its responsibilities as a major power.
Indo-Pacific

Japan foreign minister calls for U.S. to join CPTPP

U.S. interim envoy to Tokyo supports Taiwan's entry into the trade pact

23 October 2021
TSMC's proposed plant in Kumamoto, western Japan, is poised to receive government funding. (Nikkei montage)
Politics

New TSMC plant tests Japan's ability to design 'good' state subsidies

Tokyo has been a critic of Chinese aid for steel and semiconductors

22 October 2021
Nicholas Burns, the Biden administration's nominee for ambassador to China, speaks at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington on Oct. 20.
US-China tensions

Strategic ambiguity on Taiwan works: U.S. envoy pick for China

Nicholas Burns says America is 'better off' sticking with current policies

21 October 2021
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. President Joe Biden. (Source photos by Reuters)
Politics

China's and Taiwan's dueling bids spell big opportunity for CPTPP

By luring back U.S., bloc could deal from position of multilateral strength

17 October 2021
The Federal Reserve building in Washington: Financial markets in general will benefit from price stability as monetary policy eventually normalizes, says the IMF's director of fiscal affairs.
Interview

Monetary tightening will be gradual and anticipated: IMF fiscal chief

Vitor Gaspar calls Japanese prime minister's focus on 'distribution' appropriate

17 October 2021
International Monetary Fund Chief Economist Gita Gopinath says inflationary pressures will mostly normalize by next year.
Interview

Global economy 'nowhere close' to stagflation: IMF chief economist

Downside risks persist, but economic growth still resilient, says Gopinath

15 October 2021
The flags of the 11 members of the CTPP are displayed.  A rejection of Chinese style state capitalism is a core idea of the group.
Comment

New democratic framework can bolster CPTPP

China's bid to join trade pact requires members to devise bold plan B

14 October 2021
Cargo container vessels are backlogged at the Port of Long Beach in California. 
Trade

Key U.S. West Coast ports stay open 24/7 to unsnarl supply chain

Biden teams with FedEx, Walmart and Samsung to ease import backlog

14 October 2021
While Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, sees in the the CPTPP a chance to solidify Beijing's position, U.S. President Joe Biden is reluctant to join the trade pact. (Source photos by AP)
Comment

China's CPTPP push a gambit to break Asia-Pacific solidarity

Membership in trade pact would turn it into tool of Chinese dominance

13 October 2021