Gridlock over raising the debt ceiling has already tarnished Washington's image and failure to address the problem in one month could cause enormous global financial upheaval, writes CFR's Sebastian Mallaby.

New IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde has to move quickly to establish independence from the European authorities who got her the job, enhance the IMF's legitimacy, and display her ability to manage the fund, says CFR's Steven Dunaway.

Japan's ability to rebound from its triple disaster in March will require more than just rebuilding; it will demand restructuring in areas from energy and farm policy to decentralization of power, write Brian P. Klein and CFR's David S. Abraham.

China's new five-year work plan has a familiar list of growth and energy targets, an emphasis on technology investments, and special concerns about resource constraints and corruption, says CFR's Elizabeth Economy.

The March 2-3 visit of Mexico's president to Washington offers a chance at easing tensions over the cross-border drug trade, and far more than security issues are at stake, says CFR's Shannon O'Neil.

Instead of addressing serious problems in global imbalances, the February 18-19 meeting of the G20 finance minister is poised to go astray with ineffectual talks on reforming the international monetary system, says CFR's Steven Dunaway.

In this Markets and Democracy Brief, Shannon O'Neil charts the progress of Mexico's economic and democratic reforms. She sees grounds for optimism on both fronts but concludes that Mexico risks falling behind unless it redoubles efforts to overcome its authoritarian past.

Whatever change follows Egypt's political turbulence, any new government will have to confront the country's rampant unemployment, cronyism, and other factors impeding growth and development, in addition to constitutional reform, says CFR's Isobel Coleman.

China's exchange rate policy will dominate the economic dialogue between the United States and China during President Hu's state visit to Washington. There's scant hope differences can be resolved, says CFR's Steven Dunaway.

A series of frank statements by U.S. officials before the upcoming summit with Chinese president Hu Jintao provides an important new footing for advancing cooperation between the two countries, says CFR's Elizabeth Economy.

The cholera epidemic that has added to the list of Haiti's post-earthquake miseries is a reminder that what Haiti needs more than anything else is good governance that would lead to better infrastructure and safe water.

The new U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement has the potential to measurably spur the economy and reassure a top U.S. ally, but President Obama needs to take firmer steps to boost a flagging trade agenda, write CFR's Edward Alden and Scott Snyder.

The Obama administration's failure to reach a trade pact with South Korea and craft a strategic agenda for its alliance with Japan bodes ill for bolstering its influence in Asia, writes CFR's Sheila Smith.

The Fed's decision to resume quantitative easing will likely shift the focus of the G20 summit and make it harder to settle currency-policy disputes that could derail recovery of the world economy, writes CFR's Steven Dunaway.

The G20 finance ministers' agreement may have helped avert a global currency war. However, by potentially shifting the focus toward reducing external imbalance, there is a risk that policy adjustments needed to deal with imbalances among the major world economies will be neglected, writes CFR's Steven Dunaway.

Concerns about global wheat supplies are sparking fears that price inflation in the wheat market could lead to a food crisis akin to the one in 2008, says CFR's Laurie Garrett.

International donor support for fighting HIV has flat-lined, yet the United States--the world's largest donor--is under fire from the global community, and domestic political support for Obama administration global health funding is flagging, writes CFR's Laurie Garrett.

The G20 meetings in Toronto will be marked by competing agendas on global growth and strengthening global financial supervision. This Backgrounder looks at the chief policy concerns of each.

The upcoming G8 and G20 conferences mark a shift to a "multipolar age," particularly if the G20 is able to agree on a continuing path to a stable global recovery, says CFR's Stewart Patrick.

The upcoming soccer World Cup brings enormous prestige to South Africa's still-emerging democracy. But for all its post-apartheid progress, the country still must fix deep-rooted economic and political problems, writes CFR's Princeton Lyman.