This year began with international media attention drawn to the weakness of China’s economy. This prediction was validated on 9 May 2016 when the People’s Daily ran on its front page an article written by President Xi Jinping that expounded on the need for ‘supply-side structural reform’.
Duterte is gaining in the war on drugs, but at a terrifying cost to Filipino society. The Philippines is drowning in a wave of killings as the government of the newly proclaimed President Rodrigo Duterte combats the illegal drug trade. Except for a few human rights advocates, there has been no outcry from the population.
In July, Indonesian President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo courted controversy by appointing a former New Order general who has been accused of human rights abuses, Wiranto, as Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs. As security and human rights have come to dominate the political dynamic in West Papua, the new appointment to the third most powerful position in Indonesia’s Cabinet raises new questions for Indonesia’s restive eastern province.
EM ended last week on a soft note. Fed tightening expectations were buffeted first by hawkish Dudley comments and then by the more balanced FOMC minutes.
On net, the markets adjusted the odds for tightening by year-end a little higher from the previous week, and stand at the highest odds since the Brexit vote. Yet despite the strong jobs data in June and July, odds of a move on September 21 or November 2 are still low, with the December 14 meeting seen as the most likely for the next hike.
Britain’s economy after the vote to leave the European Union has been marked by one word: uncertainty. However, the FTSE 100, the UK’s main stock index, seems to be ticking along nicely.
Moody’s has reaffirmed Australia’s AAA credit rating, as Malcolm Turnbull seeks to put pressure on Labor and crossbenchers to pass measures to help repair the budget.
Moody’s Investor Services said in a statement on Wednesday that reasons for maintaining the status quo were the expectation that Australia’s “demonstrated economic resilience will endure in an uncertain global environment”; its very strong institutional framework; and stronger “fiscal metrics” than many of its similarly rated peers.
African policy makers are increasingly called on to use evidence-based research to inform development decisions. However, this requires the rigorous collection of data as well as a coordinated system to disseminate it. This is why Kenya-based African Population Health Research Center is advocating for national policies to enable strong data systems. Donatien Beguy explains Africa’s challenges and opportunities.
What is data driven decision making in the world of policymaking?
In 2015, the government of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spearheaded a series of unprecedented amendments to the 1947 Agricultural Cooperative Law. These changes will loosen the stifling controls of the national and prefectural organisations of Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA) over local co-ops and farmers.
Two big claims underpin attempts to cut penalty rates for Sunday workers in the retail and hospitality sectors: that they are no longer needed or relevant, and that they cost jobs.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s first major economic address since the July 2 federal election was, in most respects, the kind of speech one might have expected from a leader who had won with a comfortable margin.
He sounded like a prime minister whose campaign agenda had won widespread support, and who had been rewarded with a significantly increased parliamentary majority.
