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☆ Why the U.S. has a productivity problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Jeff Huang | In Jefftchuang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Enter the labor productivity metric. But labor productivity in the U.S. has been falling. Prior to the data from the most recent quarter, the country had seen five consecutive quarters of year-over-year declines in worker productivity. "Sluggish productivity means sluggish growth. Watch the video above to find out more about how labor productivity is measured, how effective a metric it is for economists, the reasons behind the slowdown in productivity and the impact it has on the U.S. economy.

Persons: Jason Furman, Barack Obama, Greg Daco, Furman Organizations: Federal Reserve, Harvard Kennedy School, of Economic Advisers, of Labor Statistics Locations: U.S

Here are some details of the impact:* DEATHThe war has caused death on a level not seen in Europe since World War Two. The war has left nearly 500,000 troops either dead or injured, according to the New York Times. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Sept. 21 that 5,937 Russian soldiers had been killed since the start of the war. When added to Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, Russia now controls about 17.5% of Ukraine, an area of about 41,000 square miles (106,000 square km). Shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, international oil prices spiked to their highest levels since the records of 2008.

Persons: Chasiv Yar, Violeta Santos Moura, Sergei Shoigu, Julie Kozack, William Burns, Putin, Guy Faulconbridge, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, United Nations, Human Rights, New York Times, Russian, Reuters, Belfer, Harvard Kennedy School, International Monetary Fund, CIA, European Union, Kiel Institute, Thomson Locations: Chasiv, Ukraine, Donetsk, Europe, United States, Ukraine's, Russia, Crimea, Russian, UNHCR, UKRAINE Russia, Massachusetts , New Hampshire, Connecticut, wastelands, RUSSIA, Moscow, China, Saudi Arabia, Britain, Germany, Japan

☆ Opinion | What Can Replace China as a Global Economic Engine?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

To an extent that few Americans genuinely appreciate, global growth has been powered by the so-called Chinese miracle for almost half a century now. grew by 30 percent and China’s by 263 percent — China accounted for more than 40 percent of all global growth. If you excluded China from the data, global G.D.P. In 1992, China’s G.D.P. Quite likely not somewhere great, even if the world’s great powers manage to avoid direct conflict.

Persons: —, China’s, David Oks, Henry Williams, Ricardo Hausmann, Tim Sahay, Narendra Modi Organizations: World Bank, Harvard Kennedy School Locations: China, Asia, United States, India

☆ Opinion | When Great Power Conflict and Climate Action Collide
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( The Ezra Klein Show | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It also processes the bulk of the so-called critical minerals, like lithium, cobalt and graphite, that are essential to building out clean energy technologies. There is no clean energy revolution without China. What would happen if China decided to weaponize its clean energy resources in the same way Russia recently weaponized its oil and gas? Is it possible for the U.S. to end its energy dependency on China by investing in clean energy at home? Bordoff is the founding director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University and a former senior director for energy and climate change for the National Security Council under Barack Obama.

Persons: “, Ezra Klein, Jason Bordoff, Meghan O’Sullivan, Barack Obama, O’Sullivan, George W, Bush Organizations: Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google, Center, Global Energy, Columbia University, National Security, Belfer Center for Science, International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School Locations: China, Russia

☆ The last mile of inflation is going to be the hardest, says former CEA chairman Jason Furman
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe last mile of inflation is going to be the hardest, says former CEA chairman Jason FurmanJason Furman, former CEA chairman under President Obama and Harvard Kennedy School economics professor, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the state of inflation, what's behind the decline in inflation over the past year, recession fears, and more.

Persons: Jason Furman Jason Furman, Obama Organizations: Harvard Kennedy School

Elon Musk’s Unmatched Power in the Stars The tech billionaire has become the dominant power in satellite internet technology. Today, more than 4,500 Starlink satellites are in the skies, accounting for more than 50 percent of all active satellites. 53% of active satellites are Starlink.” The Starlink satellites are highlighted and are all operating in low-Earth orbit. How Starlink customers connect to the internet Starlink satellites orbit at much lower altitudes than traditional satellite internet services. “Everywhere on earth will have high bandwidth, low latency internet,” Mr. Musk predicted on the Joe Rogan podcast in 2020.

Persons: Elon Musk’s, Mark, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Elon Musk, Zaluzhnyi, General Zaluzhnyi, Musk, Musk’s, ”, Starlink’s, ” Mykhailo Fedorov, Mr, Biden, ” Dmitri Alperovitch, Sir Martin Sweeting, Sweeting, Mike Blake, Patrick Seitzer, Rafael Schmall, Joe Rogan, Jeff Bezos, Starlink, Russia —, Fedorov, —, Clodagh Kilcoyne, Nancy Pelosi, Colin H, Kahl, Lynsey Addario, messaged Mr, Lloyd Austin, Gregory C, Allen, we’ve, Mykhailo Podolyak, Volodymyr Zelensky, Jason Hsu, Hsu, “ Elon, Michael McCaul of, Tsai Ing, Tsai, Audrey Tang, Mariana Suarez, Thierry Breton, SpaceX, Chérif El, Amazon Organizations: Joint Chiefs of Staff, Ukraine’s Armed Forces, SpaceX, Tesla, Twitter, Mr, U.S . Defense Department, NASA, Senior Pentagon, The Defense Department, Starlink, European Union, Silverado, Accelerator, Surrey Satellite Technology, Reuters, Airbus, Earth, Getty, Satellite, University of Michigan, National Science Foundation, Rivals, Amazon, Origin, Viasat, Pentagon, CNN, The New York Times, U.S, Defense Department, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Elon, Harvard Kennedy School, Republican, House Foreign Affairs, OneWeb, Agence France, European, United Nations Locations: Ukraine, United States, Iran, Turkey, Japan, Starlink, Crimea, Russian, Starlinks, Europe, Taiwan, China, Beijing, British, Colorado, Cape Canaveral, Fla, —, California, Florida, Latin America, Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique, Rwanda, Ukrainian, Russia, Kreminna, Aspen, Colo, Kherson's, Kherson, Dnipro, Shanghai, Taipei, Michael McCaul of Texas, del, Uruguay, European Union

☆ The Fed may need to do more to 'really lock in their goal', says former CEA chairman Jason Furman
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe Fed may need to do more to 'really lock in their goal', says former CEA chairman Jason FurmanJason Furman, former CEA chairman under President Obama and Harvard Kennedy School economics professor, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the Fed's rate hike campaign, whether a soft landing is more likely with the recent economic data, the impact of ChatGPT on learning, and more.

Persons: Jason Furman Jason Furman, Obama Organizations: Harvard Kennedy School

☆ Thailand's royalists foiled Harvard grad Pita Limjaroenrat's first attempt at becoming prime minister. Here's what happens now
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Thailand's Pita Limjaroenrat may get another shot at the country's prime minister job next week. But his path to potential power remains unclear, especially if the leader of the country's Move Forward Party does not budge from his election pledge to amend a law that prohibits criticism of the monarchy. Limjaroenrat fell 51 votes short of the majority he needed from the 749 members of Thailand's bicameral National Assembly for the top job in a first parliamentary vote on Thursday. Forty-two-year-old Pita, who attended Harvard Kennedy School, will be able to stand for prime minister if nominated again by his eight-party alliance. Otherwise, Pheu Thai — the second-largest party in the eight-party coalition with Move Forward — may also put forward its own candidate from among the three candidates the party had earlier surfaced.

Persons: Thailand's Pita Limjaroenrat, Limjaroenrat, Grace Lim, Pita, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin Shinawatra, Srettha Thavisin, Chaikasem Nitisiri Organizations: National Assembly, Senate, Moody's Investors, Harvard Kennedy School Locations: Southeast Asia's

☆ Traditional allies are not looking to pivot away from the United States, analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailTraditional allies are not looking to pivot away from the United States, analyst saysMohammed Alyahya, senior fellow at the Belfer Center's Middle East Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School, says traditional allies aren't looking to replace the United States as a primary strategic ally.

Persons: Mohammed Alyahya Organizations: Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School Locations: United States

☆ The Fed should raise another 50 basis points this year, says former CEA Chair Jason Furman
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe Fed should raise another 50 basis points this year, says former CEA Chair Jason FurmanJason Furman, former CEA chairman and Harvard Kennedy School professor, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the Fed's rate hike campaign, why he believes interest rates should rise another 50 basis points over the course of the year, and more.

Persons: Jason Furman Jason Furman Organizations: Harvard Kennedy School

☆ Jacinda Ardern made a dame in New Zealand
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Former New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern, who stepped down from her post earlier this year, has been made a dame in one of the country’s highest honors. “Having served as Prime Minister from 2017 to 2023, Dame Jacinda Ardern is recognized for her service to New Zealand during some of the greatest challenges our country has faced in modern times,” Hipkins said in a statement. The move grants Ardern the title of Dame Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. In a statement to CNN affiliate Radio New Zealand (RNZ), Ardern said she was “incredibly humbled” by the accolade. Within a year, she had become only the second world leader to give birth in office.

Persons: Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins, Dame Jacinda Ardern, ” Hipkins, Dame, ”, Ardern, “ Organizations: CNN, Former New Zealand, Labour Party, Merit, Radio New Zealand, Kiwis, United Nations General Assembly, Harvard University, Harvard Kennedy School, New Locations: New Zealand, Zealand, Christchurch, Wellington

The deal to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling until January 2025 holds non-defense discretionary spending largely flat this year, with a 1% increase in fiscal 2024. SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE OFF LIMITSIn their debt limit negotiations, both President Joe Biden and House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy vowed not to touch the main driver of U.S. debt: rising Social Security pension and Medicare health benefit costs. Debt-ceiling negotiations spared cuts to mandatory spending like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security even though these programs cost more than discretionary spending. CBO projects the government will spend $6 trillion on mandatory spending programs in the 2033 fiscal year, up from $4.1 trillion this year. But the plan failed when then-president Barack Obama declined to endorse it, setting up Congress for the debt ceiling battle of 2011.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kevin McCarthy, Julia Nikhinson, Dennis Ippolito, you've, Nigel Chalk, Biden, Brian Riedl, Linda Bilmes, Bowles, Barack Obama, Bilmes, David Lawder, Andy Sullivan, Heather Timmons, Nick Zieminski Organizations: White, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Republicans, Defense, Southern Methodist University, Congressional Budget Office, Security, Social Security, CBO, International Monetary Fund, Reuters, Democratic, Western Hemisphere Department, IMF, Manhattan Institute, Harvard Kennedy School, Commerce Department, Simpson, Thomson Locations: United States, Washington , U.S, U.S, Washington

☆ Debt limit 'brinksmanship' has a cost and is completely unnecessary: former CEA Chair Jason Furman
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailDebt limit 'brinksmanship' has a cost and is completely unnecessary: former CEA Chair Jason FurmanGlenn Hubbard, former Council of Economic Advisers chairman and Columbia Business School professor, and Jason Furman, former CEA chairman and Harvard Kennedy School professor, join 'Squawk Box' to discuss the Fed's rate hike campaign, the latest on debt ceiling standoff, and more.

☆ Biden administration defends immigrant labor while sending 1,500 troops to the border
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Ethan Dodd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

President Biden is sending 1,500 troops to the southern border. Yet, his secretary of Homeland Security says employers "are desperate for workers." The COVID-era rule expired May 11, so the Biden administration is now sending troops to tamp down on border crossings. Despite taking such measures to police the border, Biden's Department of Homeland Security argued on the day that Title 42 ended that immigrant labor is needed to address America's labor shortage. As a result, native workers who dropped out of high school and typically earn $25,000 annually saw their earnings drop by between $800 and $1,500 each year, he estimated.

The discord between Russia and the other Arctic Council members means that an effective response to these changes is far less likely. Recently, it has taken steps to expand cooperation in the Arctic with non-Arctic states. On April 24, Russia and China signed a memorandum establishing cooperation between the countries' coast guards in the Arctic. "We need to safeguard the Arctic Council as the most important international forum for Arctic cooperation and make sure it survives," Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Eivind Vad Petersson told Reuters. "I don't see an Arctic Council without Russia in the future," said Larsen, a Greenland lawmaker at the Danish Parliament and the Chair of Arctic Parliamentarians, a body including MPs from across the Arctic countries.

☆ Opinion: How to fight back against the ‘anti-woke’ movement
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Opinion Khalil Gibran Muhammad | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Several states across the country have imposed bans on books, K-12 educational curricula and diversity programs in recent months. And even where statewide bans are not in place, restrictive measures are being enacted by local school boards. The mere mention of structural racism or gender discrimination or sexuality can potentially cost educators and librarians their jobs. The beginnings of this national movement to defend the freedom to learn is rekindling relationships between college students and civil rights activists and inspiring new ones between college faculty and K-12 teachers and librarians. With such formidable alliances among students, teachers, organizers and academics being forged in communities across the country, we finally have an answer to reverse the swelling tide of injustice and authoritarianism.

☆ Opinion | Biden’s Highest Hurdle Isn’t Age, It’s Passion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Charles M. Blow | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The age question is major concern for Biden, according to political advisers I’ve spoken to recently — and according to the chatter on cable news and online. And the sense that he has underwhelmed is particularly problematic for Biden when it comes to young voters. Younger voters can also be barometers of how much a candidate’s passion factors into his appeal. I reached out to several voting rights advocates and political organizers to discuss Biden’s bid, and the overall impression settles somewhere between cautious optimism and dampened enthusiasm, not so much about Biden’s age, but how voters, including younger voters, look at his policy priorities. As Clifford Albright, the co-founder and executive director of the Black Voters Matter Fund, told me, although younger voters would generally like to see younger candidates, “the age thing can be overcome if you’re talking about the right issues.”

☆ GM to end production of Chevrolet Bolt EV later this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A close-up view of the Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle is seen at Stewart Chevrolet in Colma, California, U.S., October 3, 2017. "We have progressed so far that it's now time to plan to end the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EU production, which will happen at the very end of the year," GM CEO Mary Barra told investors on Tuesday. The Bolt, GM's first mass market EV, still accounts for more than 90% of all U.S. GM EV sales. The Bolt was preceded by the Chevrolet Volt -- a plug-in hybrid that GM ended production in 2019. The recall prompted GM to halt Bolt production and sales for more than six months.

☆ Former NZ PM Jacinda Ardern accepts Harvard fellowships
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WELLINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday that she was taking up three fellowships at Harvard University later in 2023. Ardern stepped down as prime minister in January saying she had "no more in the tank" to lead the country and would also not seek re-election to parliament. Harvard University said in a statement she had been appointed to dual fellowships at Harvard Kennedy School and to a concurrent fellowship at the Berkman Klein Center. “I am incredibly humbled to be joining Harvard University as a fellow - not only will it give me the opportunity to share my experience with others, it will give me a chance to learn," Ardern said in the statement. Ardern has previously said she will continue to help tackle violent extremism online as an unpaid special envoy for the Christchurch Call.

☆ Jacinda Ardern: Former New Zealand leader is heading to Harvard
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —After stepping down as leader of New Zealand earlier this year, Jacinda Ardern has revealed that she is swapping the rough and tumble of politics for a stint of quiet reflection within academia overseas, heading to Harvard University this fall under two fellowships. She was appointed to dual fellowships at the Harvard Kennedy School, the university’s school of public policy and government, according to a news release by Harvard. Jacinda Ardern leaving New Zealand's Parliament for the last time as Prime Minister on January 25, 2023 in Wellington, New Zealand. “Jacinda Ardern showed the world strong and empathetic political leadership,” said Kennedy School Dean Douglas Elmendorf in the news release. Within a year, she had become only the second world leader to give birth in office.

☆ S.Korea's Yoon to meet Biden as doubts grow over nuclear umbrella
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

More than 64% supported South Korea developing its own nuclear weapons, with about 33% opposed. Yoon has been pushing to boost South Korea's say in operating the U.S. extended deterrence but exactly what that might entail has not been spelt out. A senior U.S. official said on Friday that Biden, during the summit with Yoon, would pledge "substantial" steps to underscore U.S. commitments to deter a North Korean nuclear attack. South Korea, a major producer of artillery shells, says it has not provided lethal weapons to Ukraine, citing its relations with Russia. South Korea tries to avoid antagonising Russia, due chiefly to business interests and Russian influence over North Korea.

NEW YORK, April 14 (Reuters) - Firms find that investors penalize their stock less for high greenhouse gas emissions if they voluntarily disclose that data, researchers at Lazard's climate center said on Friday. For energy companies the effect was more pronounced: Disclosure actually increased their P/E measure by 0.8%. "People might assume the worst if you don't disclose," said Peter Orszag, chief executive of financial advisory at Lazard. Many firms have pledged in recent years to reduce their carbon emissions, but the report found this had little observable impact on their valuations. "Investors may not interpret pledges as bearing material weight, but rather as ... bolstering public relations," the report said.

☆ China's 'Belt and Road' grew out of a lending spree. Now those loans may be its problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAt its peak, China's Belt and Road Initiative was seen as the centerpiece of Beijing's engagement with the world. According to the report, China issued 128 emergency rescue loans worth $240 billion to 22 countries — including Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Turkey, among others. 'Trying to salvage Belt and Road'Chinese efforts to revamp Belt and Road have been underway since 2020, according to one observer. "A nod to the concern that many Belt and Road projects were not economically viable to begin with. "The increased indebtedness in many Belt and Road countries is a direct consequence of Beijing's overshooting in the pre-2020 phase," said Zhong.

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - The United States is working hard to counter China's influence in international institutions and in lending to developing countries, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday. Yellen said she was concerned by some of China's activities globally, particularly in lending to developing countries. China has lent hundreds of billions of dollars to build infrastructure in developing countries, but lending has tailed off since 2016 as many projects have failed to pay the expected financial dividends. China is negotiating debt restructurings with countries including Zambia, Ghana and Sri Lanka and has been criticised for holding up the processes. In response, it has called on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to also offer debt relief.

☆ Belt and Road Initiative: China spending billions to bail out megaproject's debtors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

For one, China’s loans are far more secretive, with most of its operations and transactions concealed from public view. The PBOC requires an interest rate of 5%, compared to 2% for IMF rescue loans, the study said. There is also public concern in some countries over issues like excess debt and China’s influence. Accusations that Belt and Road is a broad “debt trap” designed to take control of local infrastructure, while largely dismissed by economists, have sullied the initiative’s reputation. In January, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang rejected the accusations of China creating a “debt trap” in Africa, a major recipient of Belt and Road investments.

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