former International Economist, World Bank
Former international economist at the World Bank (1970-1998), including four years as chief of the its Resident Mission in Beijing (1993-1997); Senior Adjunct Professor of China Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University
China: New Leaders, New Plans and Potential Troubles China stunned economists and rattled stock markets worldwide by raising interest rates today for the first time in three years, after four days of secret meetings by 300 or so top Communist Party leaders which ended yesterday. China watchers are trying to analyze the leadership choices and new five-year plan. What’s next for economic growth, the environment and housing prices? Will censorship give way to greater openness? What about competition with the US?
China: New Leaders, New Plans and Potential Troubles China's been a major engine of growth in the weakened global economy, but, today, in the hopes of slowing things down, it stunned economists and rattled stock markets worldwide by raising interest rates for the first time in three years. Though China's economy grows fast, a population equal to that of the US is moving from the countryside into the cities. Can the government maintain control? China watchers are trying to analyze the leadership choices and new five-year plan determined in four days of high-level, secret meetings by 300 top Communist Party leaders. What's next for economic growth, the environment and housing prices? Will censorship give way to greater openness? What about competition with the US?
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
What is Trump's plan for Middle East peace? On his first foreign tour, President Trump has promised "peace" between Israel and the Palestinians. Are there any details for re-starting talks that have been stalled for the past three years?
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.