Economics

There are three, and arguably interrelated, known unknowns that are seemingly on everyone's mind.  First is the decline in global equity markets. Is this simply a long overdue correction? Wasn't August 24 some sort of capitulation?  Is this a re-test...

The US dollar gained against most of the major currencies last week. A notable exception was the Japanese yen.  Steep equity losses and drop in bond yields provided the yen with the customary fillip. The various economic reports, including the...

The Schengen area has never tested to the same level as it is now. The unprecedented volume of refugees and migrants arriving in Europe has left its leaders struggling to cope. Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, issued a sober warning that...

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Trutnev’s visit in August 2015 to Iturup, one of the four islands contested by Japan and Russia, flared up a war of words between the two countries. Shortly after the Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev...

The dovish signals from the ECB failed to offer lasting support for the global capital markets.  Asia shares slumped, with the Nikkei falling to new lows since February and taking out the psychologically important 17k level.  The MSCI Asia Pacific...

In order to improve the effectiveness of development strategies in Indonesia’s Papua province, trust between the central government in Jakarta and the Papua provincial government in Jayapura needs strengthening. The PNPM-RESPEK initiative is a case in point. In order to...

The International Monetary Fund warns that financial turmoil could begin a vicious cycle that hurts global economic growth. The largest Asian economy’s slowdown, combined with a bear trend in its stock market, could cause lower growth in the future. The...

The world’s ‘steering committee’ often refers to the G20 and in less than five months, China will be firmly behind the wheel. At recent G20 summits and meetings in Beijing and Shanghai, government officials, academics and business representatives were asking...

The closure of Chinese markets today has removed an agitator and contributed to the calmer tone in the global capital markets.  Sweden's Riskbank decision to policy on hold has sent the krona up nearly 1% against the US dollar.  It...

South Korean President Park Geun-hye will visit China from September 2–4 to attend Beijing’s official activities to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, including a military parade on 3 September. Her visit comes fresh off...

Economics, dubbed the dismal science, studies scarcity.  A question that predates human society is how to distribute scarcity.  Nature rewards the strong, the quick, and the cunning.  Societies mitigate this natural system in care for the young, weak, sick, and...

The semblance of stability that had seemed to return to the global capital markets has ended abruptly.  Nearly every major country that has reported August manufacturing PMI except Germany has disappointed.  China's manufacturing PMI hit a three year low (49.7...

After a tumultuous week, the global capital markets are struggling to stabilize.  Chinese equities were under sharp downward pressure following news reports that the large-scale intervention was to end.  However, stocks roared back in late dealings, and other reports indicated...

There are three things that will command investors' attention in the week ahead.  The first, and most important, is whether the global capital markets will continue to move toward stability after the huge drama over the past week or two....

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) issued a report on member nation economic performance in the second quarter of 2015. Unfortunately, the numbers were not promising: it reveals that the combined economic growth of the OECD's member nations...