Economy

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
Bruno Serra, monetary policy director at Brazil's central bank, says rates could be raised more than 150 basis points in December if conditions warrant. (Photo courtesy of Banco Central do Brasil)
Interview

Brazil's central bank eyes bigger rate hike to step up tightening

December increase will exceed 1.5 points if 'necessary,' monetary policy director says

8 November 2021
Demonstrators protest during COP26 in Glasgow on Nov. 3: the alphabet soup of standards and information opens the door to greenwashing.
Opinion

Asia must join effort to develop sustainability disclosure standards

Tackling corporate greenwashing requires global participation

8 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
Marta Lucia Ramirez, Colombia's vice president and foreign minister, spoke with Nikkei Asia in Tokyo on Nov. 7. (Photo by Rurika Imahashi)
Interview

Colombia invites Japan to be full member of Pacific Alliance

Vice president sees growing interest around Asia in trade pacts with Latin America

7 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
Mount Kilimanjaro, pictured in January 2015: scientists now fear the ice cap could disappear entirely.
Opinion

Asia must help Africa escape worst impacts of climate change

Second-largest continent is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world

1 November 2021
Investors mingle at Future Initiative Investment Summit Riyadh in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. (Photo by Nesreen Bakheit)
Economy

Saudi Arabia tries to lure foreign companies away from UAE

Top oil exporter licenses 44 global firms in bid to become regional business hub

1 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
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ramped up pressure on the central bank to stimulate the economy.
Economy

Turkey cuts interest rates again despite calls for course change

Business leaders issue rare critique of Erdogan on inflation and currency

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
Women stand in front of a currency exchange office in Istanbul. The Turkish lira depreciated by 8% since the end of August.
Currencies

From Turkey to South Korea, strong dollar squeezes the energy-poor

Higher U.S. interest rates drive investors to greenback

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
Container ships wait off the coast of the congested Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in Long Beach, California, on Oct. 1.
Trade war

Biden's new trade policy draws praise in Beijing, but baffles D.C.

Will 'Trump lite' work? Critics call for a 'rest of the world' strategy that ignores China

13 October 2021