Opinion

  Franz-Stefan Gady SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS The Chinese military has inducted a new intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) capable of hitting U.S. military installations on Guam, the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands, a new report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission reveals. The Dongfeng-26C (DF-26C), a conventionally armed IRBM, has in all likelihood been deployed as …

  Mac Margolis Brazilians aren’t easily impressed these days. A brutal economic recession and 26 straight months of the worst political corruption scandal in memory have seen to that. But on May 9, an unusual news item caught the public eye. That day, one of Brazil’s biggest companies published an open letter to the nation. In the 770-word “Apology and …

  A self-confessed “man of many flaws and contradictions,” the Philippines’ new president-elect, Rodrigo Duterte, now has the tough job of uniting the country. However, the tougher job will be convincing everyone that the Philippines is not regressing and his polices are indeed fit for a modern democracy. The former mayor of Davao City used his first press conference since …

  The economic problems in southern Europe are deep and painful, but they are not unsolvable. Some of them are already beginning to mend. A case in point: Italy, which has started to grow again after enduring a nasty recession. Then there’s Greece, which looks like it’s headed for a new round of trouble. Although its crushing debt and crippling …

  Foreign governments can’t be sued in U.S. courts. Foreign companies can. What happens when China’s state-owned companies claim to be part of the government? Nobody knows because the law is confusing, but some U.S. courts are taking the Chinese claim seriously. The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act isn’t well drawn to address the complex situation of Chinese companies and their …

  When signs of world economic crisis began to show up, China was an exemplary business hub for western investors, especially from the US. Now, there seems to be a sort of role reversal as Chinese investors are flocking to the US, Canada and Australia, to buy properties. Chinese investors may be seeking to move money abroad amid abysmal look …

  Ankit Panda SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS Early last year, when the United States’ Western European allies began eagerly signing up for China’s nascent Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as founding members, it seemed as if Washington was confident that the AIIB would emerge as a poorly governed tool of Chinese geoeconomic statecraft, beholden to lower standards than the World …

  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting the U.S. in June, where he will address Congress at the invitation of Speaker Paul Ryan. Modi will be the fifth Indian prime minister to address that body, following Rajiv Gandhi, P.V. Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Manmohan Singh. It will also be Modi’s fourth visit to the U.S. in …

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reportedly cancelled plans to hike the consumption tax in 2017, bowing to sluggish growth, a strong yen and a falling stockmarket. Will it be enough to save Abenomics? Avoiding the prospect of another potential recession in the world’s third-largest economy, Abe reportedly told senior government and ruling coalition officials Friday that he would postpone …

  When Thailand votes on August 7 to pass or reject a new constitution, voters will head to the polls knowing that the country’s two dominant political parties are opposed to the military-sponsored draft’s content and spirit. While the ruling junta is actively promoting the draft charter’s hybrid vision of a military-guided democracy, punitive bans imposed on organized opposition, public …