Economics

The British historian Lord Acton famously said, "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."  The American response is a system of checks and balances.  The Federal Reserve represents a concentration of power that became abundantly clear during and after the...

Amid light news, the US dollar’s recent gains have pared slightly.  Attention turns to the US, were several Fed officials speak, October housing starts/permits will be released, and then later in the session, traders will peruse the minutes from last...

The IMF gave G20 leaders some bad news in Turkey: they are not doing enough to lift growth. The G20 has not implemented enough of their previous commitments and their goal of increasing G20 GDP by US$2 trillion by 2018...

There has been a lot made about Russia’s ‘sudden’ pivot to the Asia Pacific, but is it all much ado about nothing? In the context of the US rebalance to Asia and heightened rhetoric over Ukraine, the policy is not...

The prospect of the Fed rate hike next month while many other countries consider providing more stimuli continues to underpin the dollar.  Corrective downticks remain shallow and brief.  The euro slumps to near seven-month lows just below $1.0645.  The greenback...

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the first ever meeting between the leaders of the two countries on 7 November 2015 in Singapore. The timing of the meeting is interesting and controversial. President Ma is...

On 29 October 2015, a United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Tribunal issued the highly awaited Award on Jurisdiction and Admissibility in the Philippines–China arbitration case. The interim award sets up a climactic final ruling in...

After half a decade of low growth, global organizations continue to represent the victors of World War II, not the economic powerhouses of the 21st century. However, change is in the air.  Following a series of coordinated terror attacks in...

Investors have mildly responded to the tragic developments in Paris.  Equities tumbled in Asia, with the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index shed more than 1%, and the euro briefly pushed below $1.07.  The dollar fell to almost JPY122.20.   US Treasury yield slipped...

Nous Sommes Paris:  The attack in Paris is tragic and reprehensible.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the people in France.  There are several political and economic consequences, aside from the tighter security and elevated alertness.  The...

The historic meeting in Singapore between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Taiwanese counterpart, Ma Ying-jeou, on 7 November was the first ever between the leaders of the two countries. With the next Taiwanese presidential elections only two months away,...

December will be a month to remember.  ECB President Draghi continued to fan expectations of further accommodative measures at the December 3 meeting.  At the same time, the strength of last week's US employment report, reinforced by comments from the...

The US dollar has stabilized after yesterday's flurry that shook out some weak short euro and yen positions.  The push through $1.08 was a new opportunity to short the euro by short-term traders.  Disappointing Eurozone GDP data provided mode fodder...

One of the predominant news stories over the past few months has been the migrant crisis in Europe. Driven by civil wars, refugees from the Middle East and beyond are flowing into the European Union. Over the next 18 months,...

An increase in land supply is the usual solution put forward to solve the housing affordability crisis. What proponents of this argument fail to mention is that you need an industry prepared to deliver housing on that land and any...