O-Burma trip rewards reformists for job half done
By Wayne Arnold
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
Barack Obama’s planned trip to Myanmar this month risks rewarding the country’s rulers for a job half-done. The visit would justifiably herald recent reforms and cultivate a key ally as U.S. foreign policy pivots to Asia. But it is sure to antagonize China’s new leaders and could reduce pressure on Myanmar to make the tougher changes it still needs.
How to make sense of China’s leadership line-up
By John Foley
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
China’s big reveal of its top party leadership deserves careful reading. A day after the Communist Party congress ends on Nov. 14, a group of suited officials will take the stage, and China-watchers will try to make sense of who’s there and who isn’t. Xi Jinping is virtually assured the top spot; the rest are less certain. Here are five clues that the new line-up of the Politburo Standing Committee might offer about China’s direction in the next decade.
Big election loser: Uncle Sam’s global status
By Edward Hadas
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
When Barack Obama entered the White House in 2009, he was the world’s darling. Politicians and citizens in many countries, not to mention the Nobel Peace Prize committee, saw an intelligent, decisive and idealistic leader. Such a man could help set the global agenda dealing with its many challenges. Four years later, expectations will be lowered.
Obama’s legacy depends on second-term compromise
By Daniel Indiviglio
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
A successful second term for U.S. President Barack Obama depends on him learning to compromise. He won’t have much time to celebrate his win over Mitt Romney before confronting a mandatory raft of tax increases and spending cuts. To avert an imminent recession, he will need to channel his predecessor Bill Clinton and bring together a divided Congress on fiscal reform. A grand bargain could assure his place in history.
QE-lenient world gives Vietnam financial pardon
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
By Wayne Arnold
Investors can’t stay mad at Vietnam. Even after a downgrade last month by rating agency Moody’s, they’re willing to lend Hanoi dollars for less. Rising exports have helped restore reserves and avert a potential balance of payments crisis, while top officials have apologised for economic mismanagement. In a world awash with cash, however, investors are all too eager to forgive and forget.
Chinese reforms could trigger domino effect
By John Foley
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
What does China want? Sustained growth, and happier citizens. How will it get there? Through economic reform. It sounds simple enough.
Hong Kong’s anti-foreigner property tax may spread
By Peter Thal Larsen
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
Hong Kong’s new anti-foreigner property tax may catch on elsewhere. Battling the effects of cheap money and capital flight, the territory’s authorities have slapped a 15 percent stamp duty on buyers without a permanent residents’ card. Though the move will have unintended side effects, its political logic could prove appealing in other urban hotspots.
Review: A practical guide to writing in Chinese
By Katrina Hamlin
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.
Mo Yan may have won the Nobel, but in China celebrity blogger Han Han rules online. More than half a billion readers have visited his irreverent blog. He’s also a hit on Sina Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter, where his first post attracted 750,000 followers.
China insider exposé is explosive and predictable
By John Foley
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
Fix one problem, and along comes another. On the day China expelled disgraced politician Bo Xilai from its parliament, a New York Times investigation alleged that Premier Wen Jiabao’s family controls financial assets worth $2.7 billion. The suggestion is explosive, particularly of a leader who has spoken out about inequality. But it is also mundane, and won’t much change the calculus for investors in the People’s Republic.
BBC discovers curse of successful institutions
By Edward Hadas
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
The BBC is learning one of the hardest lessons of institutional management. The UK broadcaster has never hesitated to report scandal in other organisations. It has told the world about nursing homes which mistreat residents, the Catholic Church’s problems with sexual abuse and oil producer BP’s apparent inability to put safety far in front of profit. But the Jimmy Savile affair shows that self-correction is easier to preach than to practice.
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