Week in Review Archive

The Basic Law that has served as a de facto constitution for Hong Kong since its transfer from British to Chinese rule in July 1997 established a quasi-liberal political order, an arrangement endorsed by the Chinese legislature in 1990 and overtly acknowledged by Beijing through Hong Kong’s designation as a special administrative region (SAR) of China under the so-called “one country, two systems” model. However, encroachment by the Communist Party regime in Beijing has undermined the “special” characteristics differentiating Hong Kong from the mainland—adherence to the rule of law, protect…

The Israel-Hamas war appears to be no closer to ending more than one year after it began. Israel has intensified its military actions since the Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas confirmed on Friday that its leader, Yahya Sinwar, was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.

When Prime Minister Fumio Kishida took office in October 2021, he promised to rebuild Japan’s economy through a strategy he dubbed, “New Capitalism.” Kishida would quickly change course on his economic plan, which included redistribution at its core in an effort to reduce social inequities. As he stepped down three years later, the changes he brought to the economy seem to pale in comparison to this outsized promise.

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by half a point in September, the first cut since 2020. The Federal interest rate sits between 4.75% and 5%, hopefully mitigating the effects of high inflation and offering individuals and businesses a bit of relief. Despite this recent cut, the interest rate is nearly double the pre-pandemic rate.

More than half of Argentina’s 46 million population is now living in poverty, new figures indicate. The poverty rate skyrocketed to 52.9% in the first half of 2024, surging from 40.1% one year earlier, according to the government’s INDEC statistics agency.

Steep losses for the stock market and a slump in FDI to the lowest level in decades has brought added urgency to efforts by officials in Beijing to shore up confidence that the CCP regime is prepared to take the steps required to stabilize an economy that has shown signs of wobbling amid mounting difficulties for the crucial property sector.

Amidst the war in Ukraine, a worsening labor shortage and an economy reliant on the nation’s military mobilization, payment delays are on the rise in Russia prompting concern for credit managers entangled with businesses overseas. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has praised India’s ongoing impressive economic performance, highlighting that the country is once again poised to lead the ranking of the ten fastest-growing major economies in 2024.