Economics

A spate of opinion polls showing a tilt toward Brexit, and the leading UK newspaper urging the Leave vote on the front page, keep the global capital markets on edge.  Equities are lower, though of note ahead of the MSCI...

The risk that the UK votes to leave the EU next week is the dominant force in the capital markets.  It is a continuation of what was seen at the end of last week.  Sterling fell 1.4% against the US...

A couple of weeks ago, the four central banks that meet in the coming days were thought to be a big deal.  Numerous Federal Reserve officials were preparing the market for a summer hike. Risks of a new downturn in...

The US dollar traded heavily in the first few days of last week as investors continued to respond to the poor employment report.   However, Yellen's willingness to defer judgment while noting the underlying economic strength, JOLTS and the initial jobless...

If the Coalition loses this election there will be some insiders pointing fingers at the Business Council of Australia.  There have been times in the last three years when the Coalition has held the line on policies that looked to...

Many people understand politics and economics to be two different disciplines.  I remember in graduate school more than two decades ago, many colleagues and professors operationally defined political economy as how politics, by which they meant the state, screws up...

At this point, there are few that contest that air pollution reduces the quality of life in urban centers and may be a major contributor to climate change. However, a recent study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development...

The US dollar weakened in the first half of the week as participants continued to react to the shockingly poor jobs report and shift in Fed expectations.  However, it recovered smartly yesterday and is seeing some modest follow through buying...

Understanding how businesses engage in environmental management is important given growing global concerns  about the depletion of natural resources and reductions in biodiversity. There has been a great deal of focus on large businesses, but small businesses have a role to...

Japan has the lowest percentage of women’s political representation in the industrialised world. Women hold only 12 percent of seats in the national legislative assembly, the Diet. This is compared to a 22 percent world average and a 19 percent...

One of the most significant new developments in the global post-global financial crisis (GFC) economy is the enormous asset purchase programs implemented by central banks in the industrial world to stimulate their economies. Widely known as quantitative easing (QE) programs,...

The US dollar is posting modest upticks against most of the European currencies and the Canadian and Australian dollars. However, it has fallen against the yen and taken out the recent low, leaving little between it and the May 3...

The most important element in next week's FOMC meeting may come from the dot plot and whether the Fed officials are backing away from the two hikes thought appropriate in March. When looking the schedule of FOMC meetings, and understanding...

While most people spend a good proportion of their life at work, few will ever stop to consider whether their work is meaningful. “Meaningfulness” is not something that tends to feature in our daily thoughts, preoccupied as we often are...

India’s West Asian diplomacy has undergone a remarkable shift, with Iran becoming a major foreign policy priority for the Modi government. Modi’s recent visit to Iran on 22–23 May resulted in the signing of 12 agreements in areas ranging from...