From July 16-31, 2016, I had the opportunity to travel to Beijing, China to teach a course on Latin America at the University of International Business and Economics.  While there, as usually occurs when I travel to China, I also had the opportunity to speak to colleagues there, including academics, businessmen, and in one case, Chinese managers and technical personnel being trained for assignments to Latin America and the Caribbean. 

My favorite quote this week:
  
I've got fifty quid that says we see an alien invasion by Christmas (@markcoflaherty) 
  

Markets stopped their free fall this week, as analysts struggled to understand the impact of Brexit, and UK politics boiled over.  We continue our coverage and expect that Brexit is the very definition of what journalists call a story with legs.  Anything could happen, as we said prior to the Brexit vote, but it is not likely the vote will either be recalled or ignored.  Europe is on a new trajectory.
 

The Lujiazui Forum, June 11-12 in Shanghai featured a gathering of senior level Chinese officials and prominent academics to talk about the economy and how the financial sector can contribute to overall economic growth. The annual gathering is named for the Lujiazui neighborhood in the Pudong district of Shanghai. Shanghai is positioning itself for rapid emergence as an international financial hub.

With a story as big as Brexit, with both market and historic implications, it is easy to become overwhelmed by oceans of mediocre or partisan commentary.  Wading  through scores of articles this past week, I have discovered some wonderfully illuminating discussions about a known unknown that  no one can predict.  Below please find my selection of original and provocative articles that go beyond Thursday’s vote,  offering deeper analysis of the EU writ large, and perspective from other countries and regions.

Here is my comment on Peter Tasker's commentary on Why Should Asia Care about Brexit?

My response after reading professor Joi Ito's piece at https://joi.ito.com/weblog/2016/06/14/-the-fintech-bu.html, 

On June 23rd, Britons will hold a referendum on whether to stay or leave the European Union (EU), and surveys point to close vote. If Britain does exit the EU, or “Brexit,” the fallout could be serious and widespread. In February, G-20 finance ministers warned that Britain’s leaving the EU “could threaten global economic recovery.”