Trumponomics

Latest Episodes:

How America's China Trauma Strains Alliances Jul 19, 2018

Show notes

Trump's election wasn't a fluke. Nor are tariffs a passing fad. They reflect deep-seated trauma at the country's decline relative to China. So enraged and befuddled is the U.S. that it's a danger to itself, its closest allies and the global trading system, says former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr. A long-time lover of Americana and leader of the Chester A. Arthur Society, Carr is no crazy leftie. He tells Dan Moss of Bloomberg Opinion and Scott Lanman of Bloomberg News why he's just about given up on the U.S.

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Why India-China Comparisons Miss The Point Jul 12, 2018

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How many times have you heard India and China mentioned in the same breath? We may be looking at the South Asian giant all wrong. The best comparison might be with the robber-baron era in America, rather than China's state capitalism, says author James Crabtree. Crabtree explains to Dan and Scott what inspired his new book “The Billionaire Raj: A Journey Through India's New Gilded Age” and how India has become the financial powerhouse of world cricket.

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Why China's Population Is About to Plunge Jul 05, 2018

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Is a trade war or surging debt the biggest threat to China's economy? Try declining fertility. While the nation recently relaxed its one-child policy, such moves are unlikely to head off a projected plunge in population that will constrain the country in coming decades. In the second of a two-part episode on falling global fertility, Scott Lanman talks with Cai Yong, an expert in Chinese demographics at the University of North Carolina, about the challenges facing the world's second-biggest economy.

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How Falling Fertility Threatens the Global Economy Jun 28, 2018

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Around the world, women are having far fewer children than they were 50 years ago. This decline in fertility threatens to cause falling populations in many countries, which weighs on economic growth because it means fewer workers who can produce goods and services. In the first of a two-part episode of Benchmark, Scott Lanman talks with Elizabeth Katkin, author of the new book "Conceivability," about why it's so hard for many couples to overcome struggles with fertility -- and how countries differ on their approach to the issue.

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How Will a Trade War Impact China's Economy? Jun 21, 2018

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The U.S. and China are on the verge of a trade war, one that President Donald Trump says will be easy to win. So how will it really impact China's economy? Is the nation's GDP really growing at an incredible 7 percent rate, or is it about to collapse from a mountain of debt and aging population? Jeff Kearns, a Bloomberg editor who just finished a three-year stint in Beijing, helps separate myth from fact with host Scott Lanman, himself a former China economy editor.

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How Countries Are Grappling With The Gender Pay Gap Jun 14, 2018

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Globally, women make 50 percent less than men. In the U.S. and U.K., it's about 20 percent. Why? What are some countries trying to do to fix it? And is this even possible? Rebecca Greenfield, host of Bloomberg's "The Pay Check" podcast, joins Scott Lanman to discuss some of the findings and stories from her show.

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Why Older Workers Are the Key to the U.S. Economy Jun 07, 2018

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With the U.S. jobless rate at the lowest level since 2000, where can employers turn to fill positions and keep up with demand? There's a huge corps of Baby Boomers and slightly younger Americans who are perfectly willing to do so. But businesses may need to overcome their inclination to go younger -- and if they do, it could prove profitable for them and the economy. Jean Setzfand of AARP and Keith Hutchison of energy utility National Grid talk with Bloomberg's Scott Lanman and Chris Condon about the benefits of employing older workers.

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How the Opium Wars Shaped China's Approach to Trump's Trade Threats May 31, 2018

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No need to be caught off guard by the latest tweet from Donald Trump about tariffs and China. The underlying nature of Western economic links with the Asian nation today follows a pattern set by events almost 200 years ago. Britain, then the world's pre-eminent industrial power, wanted to reduce its trade deficit with China and muscled Beijing to reduce barriers. The result was a conflict that weakened Imperial China irrevocably, but framed President Xi Jinping's view of foreign relations. Stephen R. Platt, author of a new history of the opium conflict, speaks with Scott Lanman of Bloomberg News and Daniel Moss of Bloomberg Opinion about how much -- and how little -- has changed.

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What's Behind the Rise in Oil Prices May 24, 2018

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The U.S. is producing more oil than ever. So why are oil prices rising so much that a gallon of gasoline now costs almost $3? Wasn't shale oil supposed to make OPEC irrelevant? How much higher can prices go, and how is it all impacting the global economy? Javier Blas, chief energy correspondent for Bloomberg News, discusses all this and more with Scott Lanman of Bloomberg News and Daniel Moss of Bloomberg Opinion.

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How Argentina Ended Up With Interest Rates At 40 Percent May 17, 2018

Show notes

In Argentina, the cost of borrowing is shooting up to stratospheric levels with interest rates rising to 40 percent. The country's leadership promised a new era that put this sort of trajectory behind it. But now, Argentina finds itself in talks with the International Monetary Fund for loans to shore up its finances. Federico Kaune, head of emerging markets fixed income at UBS Asset Management, tells Scott Lanman of Bloomberg News and Daniel Moss of Bloomberg Opinion how Argentina got to this point, how the country can make it right and how this is part of a larger challenge facing emerging markets.

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