Peterson Institute for International Economics

Donald Trump's return to the White House could put the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve under strain, potentially weakening its ability to fight against inflation and unemployment free from political interference.

The Fed has a dual mandate from Congress to act independently to tackle both inflation and unemployment, primarily by raising and lowering interest rates.

Mario Draghi recently released a report on Europe's competitiveness that has sparked debate across the continent. The report, which shows Europe lagging behind the US and China in a number of areas, has many asking if the continent's leaders will heed his call to action.

US. President Joe Biden's landmark climate action plan may have been trailed by billions of dollars in clean energy investment, but its potential to reshape trade lines has strained ties with allies.

After Microsoft announced it would spend tens of billions of dollars to buy a video game company, World Bank President David Malpass on Jan. 19 drew a contrast between the deal and the amount of money rich nations have pledged to help poor countries facing higher debt loads.

Donald Trump has announced that if necessary, the United States will leave the World Trade Organization (WTO), AFP reports.

During a visit to Pennsylvania, the president announced, "We know the WTO has been screwing us for years. That won't happen again. "

The World Trade Organization is often the target of various attacks by Donald Trump.

In previous Notes for Discussion, we have looked at a long-term plan to bring the debt down; issues in state enterprises and whether these might be best managed in the private sector or by public sector managers; and the public sector balance sheet, which should reflect all the debt but also all the assets that the government owns.

As your friendly neighborhood economist, I get many questions on currencies. Where do I see the euro in a week or month? When would be a good time to exit the lira? As much as I believe in the age-old saying ?the customer is king,? I refuse to answer such queries.