Stephanomics

Don't fret too much about tariffs and trade deficits. The real competition between the U.S. and China will be in artificial intelligence and data, says Kai-Fu Lee, author of "AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley and the New World Order." Lee explores who wins in this struggle for influence, and how it affects workers.

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In the third episode of this four-part series on China's Belt and Road initiative, we look at Kenya and how Chinese investment in cargo and commuter railways between Mombasa and Nairobi is impacting economic development in the region. Bloomberg TV producer Rosalind Chin and series host David Tweed discuss how strengthening ties between these two countries may play out.

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The job numbers are strong and GDP growth looks great, but is it really the "best economy" in U.S. history as President Donald Trump says? Robert Gordon, a Northwestern University professor and author of the 2016 book “The Rise and Fall of American Growth,'' dives into the history and discusses what's not so great about the current situation. 

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For all the current strength of American economy, the country lacks the economic clout to bend the world to its liking. The U.S. lacks a foreign policy that truly reflects the shift in commercial gravity toward Asia, says Jeffrey Sachs, one of the world's most prominent economists. Sachs tells Bloomberg Opinion's Daniel Moss and Bloomberg News's Scott Lanman that it's time for a new brand of statecraft to match the retreat in U.S. economic muscle. 

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In the second of this four-part series on China's Belt and Road initiative, we talk to Haslinda Amin, who hosts the second episode of Bloomberg's TV series on the initiative and has traveled extensively through Southeast and Central Asia for the project. She looks at the complex ways countries in the region view China's sprawling infrastructure investment. India, for example, has one of the world's largest rail networks, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has committed in excess of 3 billion dollars to the country's transportation system. This episode explores the political and strategic reasons China is interested in contributing to boosting India's infrastructure.

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Can South America's largest economy get any worse? It may all depend on the outcome of next month's presidential election in Brazil. The campaign has already seen its share of drama, and investors are spooked about a return to heavy government intervention in the economy that could see banks forced to offer cheap credit. Scott Lanman and Daniel Moss discuss the election with Bloomberg editor Bruce Douglas in Brasilia. 

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The force of the trade war unleashed by Donald Trump goes beyond peeved farmers and pricier gadgets. The entire economic model of modern corporations is up for grabs, just as China is undergoing a huge internal shift that's likely to upend supply chains. Frances Lim of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts shares with Daniel Moss of Bloomberg Opinion her conclusions from a recent trip to the epicenter. 

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As a special bonus, we’re bringing Benchmark listeners the first peek at a four-part series on China’s Belt and Road Initiative. President Xi Jinping calls it the project of the century: a massive infrastructure spending program that hopes to enhance trade and connectivity throughout Eurasia. Through a networks of projects that span the transportation, finance, telecom and power industries, the economic corridors and maritime roads that span Eurasia could fundamentally change the dynamics of global business. In the first of four episodes, we find out what Belt and Road is, and why it’s been described as everything from “an exercise in empire building” to “a new world order.”

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The auto industry is being buffeted from all sides. Consumer tastes have shifted, forcing manufacturers to retool product lines. President Donald Trump is threatening tariffs on imported autos. And the move toward electric vehicles and autonomous cars could have profound implications for our world. Ellen Hughes-Cromwick of the University of Michigan, a former chief economist at Ford and the Commerce Department, discusses these topics with Bloomberg's Scott Lanman.

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Economic divisions in the U.S. brought an end to World War II as much as the atomic bombs. On the anniversary of Japan's surrender, historian Marc Gallicchio explains how bitter fights between business, unions and Congress marred the final months of the conflict. 

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