Economics

Greece was the first non-member to be offered BRICS membership, even though ironically the association of the emerging economies is yet to take off. The New Development Bank (NDB) operated by the five member-countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and...

The financial woes in Greece are not the sole crisis dividing European states. Tensions over how to deal with thousands of migrants landing in the Mediterranean have spilled over as domestic political pressures threaten ideals of unity. Angela Merkel calls...

American consumers are spending less on retail products and services, as confidence in the economic recovery weakens and consumers keep their pocketbooks closed. In total, retail sales fell 0.3% from May to June on a seasonally adjusted basis, despite expectations...

The global recognition of the economic prowess of the BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – has led to the group gaining greater global political influence. But it has also reinforced the regional leadership standing of these...

It is quite clear that a euro in Germany is not the same as a euro in Greece or Cyprus or even France. This disturbs many people who believe the having a single currency for such diverse countries does not...

On October 2 2013, after months of extensive joint federal investigations, the FBI arrested Ross William Ulbricht (aka “Dread Pirate Roberts") for his role in leading a major online criminal enterprise. In May, Ulbricht – now 31 years old –...

“Time is running out to help workers move up the jobs ladder” - at least according to the OECD’s latest employment outlook. The somewhat gloomy report points to unemployment rates exceeding 11% in most European countries. Around 42 million people...

There is a debate going on about the appropriateness of monetary easing in China. Monetary policy was excessively tight in 2014 but started loosening more meaningfully from late 2014, in an attempt to cushion slowing growth, facilitate rebalancing, support reform,...

As the focus of the West was fixated in Greece and Iran, the 7th BRICS Summit began a massive shift from a dialogue to an economic partnership – one whose full impact will be witnessed in the coming years. The...

While the downturn of the Chinese and Greek economies has taken center stage, some international economic watchdog groups fear the United States' economy may also be in trouble.  Though the U.S. economy has shown signs of growth after a slight...

The Greek government has capitulated on nearly all of European demands, seeming averting an unceremonious exit from the monetary union. The Greek parliament must now pass six reform bills that the recent referendum had appeared to reject.   The Greek government...

Economic integration has steadily increased in East Asia. But the region still suffers from what South Korean President Park Geun-hye calls ‘Asia’s paradox’, the disconnect between economic interdependence and backward political and security cooperation. Any further economic integration will likely...

The synchronised but separate 50th anniversary celebrations of the Japan–South Korea Treaty on Basic Relations illustrate the relationship between the two countries: inexorably close and painfully distant. The 22 June 2015 celebrations were quite unusual. There was no summit meeting,...

Developments in both Europe and China will likely encourage risk taking in the days ahead. Our reading of the dollar's technical condition warns of near-term vulnerability.  The yen is likely to underperform as the crosses adjust.   Neither the US economic...

Late last month, President Barack Obama took a step around the longstanding congressional gridlock over labor and employment policies by announcing a plan to boost the salary threshold governing overtime from US$23,600 to $50,440 and to index it to inflation....