Economics

The Bank of Japan surprised investors last week by introducing negative interest rates.  At the World Economic Forum in Davos a couple weeks ago, BOJ Governor Kuroda appeared to deny that such a move was under consideration.  The market's focus,...

That Africa is becoming pro-China in terms of trade and economic ties is no longer a boardroom discussion but rather a strategically executed plan in the public domain. The growth in the Sino-African relations is evident by the rise in...

Investors continue wrestling with the implications of last week's surprise rate cut by the Bank of Japan.  The yen is little changed against the dollar, near its 200-day moving average (~JPY121.50).  The euro moved from the upper end of its...

On the very first trading day of the year, the Nikkei, DAX, and S&P 500 gapped lower, setting the tone to a particularly challenging month for investors.  The last week and a half has been better, and this will likely...

The US dollar turned in a mixed performance last week.  Firmer oil and commodity prices more generally helped lift the Australian and Canadian dollars, and many emerging market currencies.  These currencies initially extended their gains ahead of the weekend in...

What does the victory of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen in Taiwan’s presidential election mean for cross-Strait relations? Today’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a considerably different political animal to former president Chen Shui-bian’s DPP. What does...

Five years ago, a number of global powers struck a deal to overhaul the way the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conducts business. This week the IMF officially approved those governance overhauls and put the agreement into action, giving emerging economies...

The Bank of Japan surprised the market.  It did not expand its asset purchase plan, which was the focus of many market participants, including ourselves.  Instead, following a rash of disappointing data, the BOJ introduced negative interest rates on some...

The year is off to a turbulent start, both in the UK, and around the world. January saw oil prices plummeting, while Chinese growth slowed, spooking investors (but surprising none). However, amid the turmoil and confusion of global stock markets,...

The Federal Reserve tweaked its economic assessment, but generally kept the underlying message the same.  It sees slack in the labor market continuing to be absorbed and believes the economic conditions warrant a gradual increase in rates.  The market was...

According to conventional economic theory, the monetisation of government debt is a recipe for fiscal profligacy and hyperinflation. It should be the last thing to which any credible central bank turns its hand. However, this is precisely what the Bank...

The December 2015 meeting between Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen has boosted bilateral relations. Relations got off to a rocky start after the Thai coup of May 2014 when Thailand abruptly ordered the exit...

For at least a couple of years before the Great Financial Crisis, policymakers often cautioned that investors were mispricing risk.  Through the crisis, investors became painfully aware of many risks, including counterparty risk and reputation risk.  Now many observers are...

Those familiar with the history of the World Trade Organization (WTO) may also recall its long-stalled negotiations over the Doha Development Agenda (DDA or simply "Doha). Last month, a bloc of developed nations led a charge to finally dismantle those...

The US dollar is broadly mixed as attention turns to the FOMC statement later today.   The most important development has been the unexpectedly large oil inventory build reported by the API ahead of today's government estimate.  The 11.4 mln barrel...