The Chart Room

Is water a social good or an economic commodity? Or both? In her interview with Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Head of the World Bank’s Water Global Practice Group, Kaitlin Ugolik writing for Institutional Investor explores topics that concern the world’s water supply. How are countries learning from each other? How is water priced? How can governments ensure access to and the security of the water supply?

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Extremely low interest rates are a global, long-term trend. In his blog entry for the Brookings Institution, former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, explores what truly influences interest rates. Is it Fed policies or a wide array of other economic factors?

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Is art an asset class? Many collect works of art not only for aesthetic appeal but for the hopes that they will see a healthy return on their investment. The marketplace for art has grown and has become more complex. In his recent entry in the EconoMonoitor, Noriel Roubini argues that art is indeed a unique asset class and should, therefore, adopt reforms and regulations to ensure market transparency.

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A rising US dollar has many benefits to the domestic economy (for example, purchasing imports has become a lot cheaper). However, a strengthening US dollar could be detrimental to some emerging economies. Writing for the New York Times’ The Upshot, Neil Irwin looks at the impact of a strong dollar on the global money supply and what it means for business owners in emerging markets who have taken on debt in US dollars to run their business.

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Nobel Laureate, Paul Krugman, explores the impact of a strong dollar on the US economy in a recent editorial published in the Irish Times. He explains that a strong dollar could have a negative effect on the current manufacturing revival in the US and potentially widen the trade deficit.

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Just how financially savvy are we as a global society? A recent study examining financial literacy conducted by Olivia Mitchell and Annamaria Lusardi was highlighted by Knowledge@Wharton. Their findings may be surprising to some and highlight the importance of financial education.

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Nigel Chalk and Jarkko Turunen of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Western Hemisphere Department explore the dramatic drop in US Treasury bond yields. On the IMF’s blog iMFdirect, Chalk and Turunen delve into the current state of the US economy to explain the behavior of the bond yields. Is it because of a strong dollar? Investor flight to safety?

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Will 2015 be as bright as predicted in this recent article by The Economist? With GDP growth on the rise, record highs for the Dow Jones and cheaper oil prices putting dollars back in the pockets of average consumers, there could be reason to celebrate.

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