Immigration

Trump’s immigration policies may put Canada first

22 Mar 2017

The U.S. president praised his neighbor’s merit-based entry system for foreigners. But administration restrictions on H-1B visas may deter high-skilled workers and their employers. That could send tech and engineering talent north to friendlier hosts, hurting American firms.

White House disrupts Silicon Valley pecking order

10 Mar 2017

Trump's arrival has rearranged how tech firms stack up in Washington. Some have criticized the U.S. president's policies while others see opportunities to sway the new regime. The shift has legal battles between Oracle and Google, and Apple and Qualcomm spilling over into D.C.

Latin America trumps populism – for now

22 Feb 2017

Ecuadoreans denied a first-round election victory to their leftist president's chosen successor. As in Brazil and Argentina, that opens the door to a traditional pro-business candidate. But growing U.S. demagoguery gives the region's politicians an excuse to ramp up nationalism.

U.S. immigration crackdown bets the farm

22 Feb 2017

The new president is moving hastily to deport more illegal workers as part of his America-centric policy. In the process of trying to protect industries like manufacturing, stricter rules will hit an agricultural sector already suffering from labor shortages and falling profit.

Viewsroom: Keeping banks in the sin bin

9 Feb 2017

President Trump wants to "do a number" on post-crisis financial reforms, but overturning them will be tough. Paris emerges as the top city for financial types after Brexit. Plus, why a legal brief filed by Google and others against Trump’s immigration ban is such an unusual move.

Silicon Valley fights for its life on immigration

7 Feb 2017

Over 100 tech firms, including Google and Apple, have joined the legal battle against President Trump's travel ban. They argue that the restrictions interfere with hiring and business operations. For an industry dependent on immigrants, the case represents a fight for survival.

Viewsroom: The cost of jingoism

2 Feb 2017

President Trump's trade-tariff threats and his temporary immigration ban risk undermining business-friendly policies like deregulation and tax cuts. Meanwhile, he has nominated a Supreme Court justice. And Under Armour takes center stage in the battle for shareholder rights.

Trump’s stock-market rally has no clothes

30 Jan 2017

The S&P 500 is up 7 pct since the eve of his election, even after an early Monday dip. The hope is that Trump's promises of cuts in taxes and red tape will unfold without a hitch, while those that would slow trade and immigration won't happen. The weekend's chaos shows otherwise.

Immigration ban hands U.S. firms dilemma

30 Jan 2017

Tech firms, Goldman, Starbucks and others may become political targets after criticizing a temporary White House block on citizens from seven mostly Muslim countries. But silence may alienate customers and future workers, especially among younger, digitally connected generations.

Theresa May takes a Brexit big bath

17 Jan 2017

New company bosses often take major writedowns to give themselves a fresh start and flatter future earnings. In saying Britain could walk away from the EU’s single market, the prime minister is on the same page. Investors can now use the clean-break scenario as their base case.

Cox: Building walls is economically stupid

22 Nov 2016

Take a trip to Danbury, Connecticut, once the world's hat-making center, whose mayor became a poster child for immigrant bashing way before Trump made it his signature. A decade later, it's the state's fastest-growing city, thanks in large part to the folks he tried to lock up.

London visa idea is clever but quixotic

10 Nov 2016

A business lobby wants a post-Brexit visa valid only in the capital for roles that can't easily be filled by UK workers. That would be good for the economy, but politically tricky. It would worsen divisions and jeopardise Prime Minister Theresa May's pledge to slash immigration.

Hadas: May offers British-style Great Leap Forward

7 Oct 2016

The UK prime minister's "quiet revolution" won't rival Mao Zedong's original in tragedy, but her mix of autocratic politics, nationalistic hope and economic nonsense is eerily reminiscent. A Brexit that offers less free trade and more xenophobia is a recipe for economic decline.

Hungary throws straw on Europe’s values bonfire

3 Oct 2016

Only a minority voted against EU migrant quotas. Yet almost no one voted for them. Like Britain’s Brexit supporters, Hungarian nationalists want both the benefits of free trade and control of immigration. Europe can resist, but the calls to blunt its ideals are getting louder.

Dubai could create its own demographic dividend

26 Sep 2016

The emirate has weathered low oil prices, but an unbalanced workforce means it is missing an economic opportunity. Only one in 23 active workers is a local, official data suggests. If Dubai can't turn citizens into workers, it might as well turn skilled workers into citizens.

Where Berlin’s voters go, Germany may not follow

19 Sep 2016

Angela Merkel's grand coalition lost power in the city, while right-wing populists won their first seats there. But an easing refugee crisis, and western Germans' loyalty to mainstream parties, suggest that the 2017 national election will bring less of an upheaval.

May’s migrant musings a cautious positive for City

5 Sep 2016

The UK prime minister has cast doubt on the efficacy of a so-called points-based immigration system post-Brexit. That sounds good for UK financial firms hit by restrictions on non-EU workers. The catch is Theresa May has little choice but to get net migration down somehow.

German protest vote could entrench Merkel

5 Sep 2016

In a regional election on the chancellor's home turf, the far-right Alternative for Germany won more votes than her own CDU. The populists' rise will increase political noise. Yet it also makes a continuation of Angela Merkel's current coalition after 2017 more likely.