Economics

The much-anticipated ECB meeting is at hand.   Yesterday's disappointing Eurozone CPI figures only fanned the anticipation. Today the service PMI was softer than expected at 54.2, down from 54.6.  What will Draghi do?  There are four moving parts.  The much-anticipated...

The results of the November 2015 ‘double election’ for the Osaka Prefectural governor and Osaka City mayor are in. The regional Osaka Ishin no Kai candidates won both positions with huge margins, defeating their rivals — including those supported by...

The anticipation is nearly over.  The softer than expected preliminary EMU inflation figures encourages expectations for the more aggressive range of actions by the ECB tomorrow.  Draghi has claimed that movement toward the inflation target was too slow.  Today's data...

When you send off a CV to a prospective employer, you will hope to get a fair hearing. You will hope that your skills, experience and qualifications decide the response, rather than the school you went to, your post code,...

Globalisation needs global institutions of governance. In the wake of the 10th meeting of G20 leaders at summit level in Antalya, Turkey on 15–16 November, now is a good time to reflect on the state of global governance. The roots...

As talks begin this week in Paris, strong rhetoric has already erupted in favor of policies designed to combat climate change. Six heads of state and the leadership of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led...

The US dollar is trading with a heavier bias today amid some last minute position squaring ahead of the key events of the week, which are stacked in the second half.  The ECB meeting and US jobs data are the...

For years now, the climate talks have revolved around discussions who should bear the burden of cutting emissions, particularly between developed and developing nations. Much of Paris climate summit will be focused on this notion of equity and how to...

What happens in China is central to the global effort to limit the extent of future climate change. China is already the largest emitter of greenhouse gases by far, even as it continues its process of urbanisation and economic modernisation....

The decline in the labor force participation rate helps explain the substantial decline in the US unemployment rate over the past couple of years.  That decline has helped bring the Federal Reserve to the point that a December rate hike...

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has negotiated for years on a package of trade reforms that aims to reduce or eliminate barriers to world trade. Unfortunately, trade talks have reached a deadlock, and trade ministers seem unlikely to find a...

The US dollar remains firm against most of the major currencies to start what promises to be a critical week for investors.  There are two main considerations.  The first is the last minute position adjustments ahead the key events that...

As part of Abenomics’ third arrow of structural reform, Japan recently adopted a new corporate governance code. The new code focuses on making Japanese corporations more transparent, more responsive to shareholders — including minority shareholders — and subject to more...

The smoke haze crisis that battered a major part of the southern ASEAN region in mid-2015 is showing signs of abating. Along with the disappearing haze, it is crucial that the resolve demonstrated by all parties — especially governments —...

The week ahead is among the most important of the year.  Rarely is there such a confluence of events in a short period that will have far-reaching implications for investors known ahead of time and discussed so extensively.  One implications...