Category Archive: Global Economy

1. European Central Bank Quantitative Easing, and What It Means for U.S. Investors

   June 2, 2015

   Last January, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced for the first time in its 17-year history that it was going to begin buying government and corporate bonds, at the rate of €60 billion ($67 billion) a month at least until September 2016 in an attempt to stave off deflation and spur the euro zone’s economy. It’s a process called “quantitative easing,” or QE, and, according to economists’ consensus, its use by the Federal Reserve – the U.S. central bank – helped lift our economy out of recession six years ago. (more…)
   

2. The Russian-Ukraine Crisis and its Effect on the Global Economy

   May 2, 2014

   As many market watchers are in the thick of earnings season, waiting to hear their daily dose of both good and bad news, the Russian-Ukraine crisis continues to loom in the background.

   Since essentially annexing Crimea from Ukraine more than a month ago, life has obviously changed in this peninsula. Crimean residents are facing an identity crisis and their everyday lives have been turned upside down.

   Food imports have dropped thanks to messy rules. Cheese and pork have been banned by Crimean authorities from the Ukraine. Ordinary items, such as yogurt, are unavailable and recently, McDonald’s and Metro, a large Germany supermarket chain, have closed their doors.

   Many multinational businesses are trying to stay away from potential sanctions by running sites in Crimea while air travel connections have stopped except to Russia. Banks have been closed and now Crimea runs on Russian time even though cellphones go back to Ukrainian time.

   While the effects may be local, the crisis’ tentacles are extending globally.

   (more…)