United States
If the US government were a normal company, it would have had to declare bankruptcy long ago.
What Enterprising Investor articles most resonated with readers this year? The results offer an illuminating look into the forces that shaped finance in 2018.
The US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently published its annual Budget and Economic Outlook, a must-read for anyone interested in where the US economy is heading.
The introduction of the Skill Ratio by Daniel Blais, CFA; Brodie Gay's examination of how inflation is underreported; and an exploration by Ziad Abou Gergi, CFA, of the manager-selection process, are among the top posts from March.
Red and blue states vary so much in their economic trajectories that they may as well be two distinct countries, writes Joachim Klement, CFA.
How critical is the full faith and credit of the United States to the domestic and global economy? Not all that much, according to the latest poll of CFA Institute NewsBrief readers.
Governments traditionally have two policy levers to influence the economy: monetary policy and fiscal policy. Many investors have directed their ire at the unprecedented monetary easing of global central bankers over the last several years, but fiscal policy in both Europe and the United States has proven impotent because of unswerving gridlock. Now there is a potential reckoning for fiscal impotency in the form of a fixed debt ceiling in the United States.
The United States is experiencing a retirement crisis. Meir Statman suggests a potential long-term solution: mandating, instead of recommending, US retirement savings.
The number of people over 80 will double by 2050, from 3.9% of the population to 9.1% across OECD member countries, and from 4.7% to 11.3% across 27 EU members. It is estimated that up to half of this elderly population will need help coping with their daily needs; yet even today, governments are battling to deliver high-quality care to those with impaired physical and mental abilities.
The two-day Obama-Xi summit at the Annenberg Retreat in California was an unprecedented event in relations between China and the United States. The focus of the summit, as reported, was on enhancing understanding and not on determining immediate deliverables. The summit concluded last week, so we asked readers this week whether they expect to see major changes in China-US relations going forward.