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Harnessing the Metaverse: States of All Sizes

State powers are beginning to make their presence known in the metaverse, as Barbados launches a virtual embassy and China leverages its dedicated blockchain research group to harness data in virtual worlds. Though these two examples are distinct due to the varied size of the nations, the metaverse poses opportunities for state actors to capitalize on access to a captive global audience. With these opportunities comes a variety of concerns around how resources will be controlled from the political economy perspective and how the evolving U.S.-China relationship will be defined in this new realm.

Global food crisis demands urgent Western response

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine shocked the world, forced Western countries to respond, and is driving up the cost of energy and food across the globe. High prices in the United States may spell electoral disaster for President Joe Biden’s administration in November’s congressional elections. However, the most urgent economic, social, and human crises are unfolding in poorer countries where populations face war, spillover-driven inflation, and more expensive foreign-currency debt.

Putin Clipped The G7's Summit Commitments

Vladimir Putin might as well have been present at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Bavaria’s Schloss Elmau in June. While the communiques issued at these annual events rarely make for exciting reading, the one choreographed by the Germans this year declares commitments marked by mild ambition, a dearth of concreteness, and few goals whose attainment can be easily measured.

The Need for WTO Reform

The recent WTO Ministerial Conference MC12 that concluded on June 17 has been hailed as an important achievement of the WTO, given its agreement on a number of substantive issues that have been under discussion for some time, as listed in the MC12 Outcome Document.

What It Will Take for the Fed to Tame Inflation

Developments in the US economy have recently been going the Federal Reserve’s way, with price pressures peaking even as economic growth and strong payroll gains have been sustained. But don’t be fooled: The task of getting inflation back to the Fed’s 2% target remains extremely daunting, both practically and politically.

Prestige Economics' Schenker on US Jobs

Jason Schenker, president and chief economist at Prestige Economics, discusses the latest jobs data out of the US and outlook for emerging market bonds. He speaks with Bloomberg's Kathleen Hays and Haidi Stroud-Watts on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Australia." (Source: Bloomberg)

How the ECB can tackle fragmentation in the eurozone

The European Central Bank is faced with a dilemma. It needs to tighten monetary policy in order to rein in unexpectedly high inflation and at the same time prevent fragmentation of financial markets across the eurozone.

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Fed's Forecasts 'Remarkably Optimistic': William Dudley

Former Federal Reserve Bank of New York President Bill Dudley, a Bloomberg Opinion contributor, says the Federal Reserve's forecasts are "becoming more realistic but they are still unrealistic." He speaks on Bloomberg Television following the decision by the Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee to raise rates by 75 basis points, the biggest increase since 1994. Dudley's opinions are his own. (Source: Bloomberg)

Germany’s Chaired G7 Summit Is A Watershed Opportunity For Leading Democracies To Capitalize On Teetering Authoritarian Economies

When German Chancellor Olaf Scholz convenes the 48th summit of the other leaders of the G7 nations on the grounds of Schloss Elmau castle in the Bavarian Alps late next month, the political economy environment in which the globe’s leading industrialized democracies find themselves is startling different from the previous G7 summit, chaired by the U.K. just 12 months ago.

Does the G20 Have a Future?

Just when the world desperately needs more international cooperation to address common problems, the principal mechanism for coordinating such efforts is all but defunct. Its decline is both a harbinger and a cause of the global turmoil that awaits.