President Trump’s smackdown of Peter Navarro, assistant to the president and director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, for Navarro’s call to weaken the U.S. dollar was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise protectionist administration. Since his appointment to the Trump administration, this undistinguished economist has led a one-man jihad against […]
When queried at a 1909 business meeting about the choice of colors available for his automobiles, Henry Ford replied that customers could have any color they wanted as long as it is black. Fast forward to the late 20th and early 21st centuries and consumers today are now in the driver’s seat (no pun intended). […]
By Jerry Haar and John Price After three years of economic decline that depleted Latin America’s GDP of $1.7 trillion, depleting the region appears poised for a rebound in 2017. Economic hardship and a surge of civic consciousness have convinced millions of South American voters to reject populism and the record levels of corruption realized […]
Fidel Castro’s death has sparked a torrent of questions, including whether President-elect Donald Trump will break with President Barack Obama’s Cuba policy. Mr. Trump tweeted Monday that “If Cuba is unwilling to make a better deal for the Cuban people, the Cuban/American people and the U.S. as a whole, I will terminate deal.” For all […]
Trade agreements are like oysters, Jägermeister and Jackson Pollock paintings—you either love them or hate them. In the current political milieu, anti-trade proponents have the upper hand, relegating vocal champions of free trade to a tiny minority. Damning free trade agreements, especially NAFTA and TPP, is the contemporary equivalent of “Remember the Alamo!” and “Remember […]
In both political and military battles there are casualties. During this election season, one of the most notable casualties is free trade. The bipartisan piling on –slamming NAFTA, TPP, WTO and single nations (mainly China, Mexico, and Japan) — is without precedent. As for proponents of free trade, their silence is deafening—fearful of retaliation by […]
That the presidential campaign is shamefully and frightfully nasty, no one can deny. While both candidates have been accused of playing fast and loose with the truth, it is Donald Trump who emerges as the clear winner in the Electoral College of Mendacity. His incessant regurgitation of falsehoods, delivered passionately and convincingly, are accepted as […]
Depending upon whom you speak with in the business community, “brain drain” is either a serious problem in South Florida or a fiction that people bandy about. In any given month, corporate executives with whom I interact will proclaim: “FIU is turning out some great MBA students. We intend to hire a lot more from […]
The toxic display of rude behavior and character assassination that has become a hallmark of this presidential primary season is matched only by the disturbing manifest ignorance by some of the candidates about economic issues. We have heard, ad nauseam, epithets such as: “We don’t make things anymore…We keep sending our jobs overseas…China and Mexico […]
To devalue or not to devalue? That is the question. During the last decade, Latin American central banks have effectively steered the rudder of monetary policy, avoiding major devaluations of their currencies–with the exceptions of Argentina and Venezuela. Recognizably, there have been incremental devaluations in the region as a country may devalue its currency to […]
