Economics

After over 20 years of sanctions and international pariah status, Myanmar has begun to come in from the cold. It has taken the 2010 elections, a new ‘civilian’ president and the by-elections of early 2012 to convince the international community...

Yellen's presentation at Jackson Hole today is the highlight of the week.  It also marks the end of the summer for many North American and European investors.  It may be a bit of a rolling start for US participants, until...

  The aftermath of the Brexit referendum has intensified the debate on alternative templates for the UK’s relationship with the European Union. The “Norway option”, an arrangement that allows Norway access to the single market without being a member of...

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) judgement on the South China Sea ruled that there is no legal basis for Chinese ‘historical rights’ within its claimed nine-dash line. China did not accept the judgement and has instead continued its maritime...

The US dollar remains mostly within the ranges seen yesterday against the major currencies. The market awaits fresh trading incentives and the end of the summer lull, which is expected next week.  The Jackson Hole Fed gathering at which Yellen...

Immigrants have become a major scapegoat in recent years for sputtering Western economies. Immigrants have become a major scapegoat in recent years for sputtering Western economies. From the U.K.’s jarring “Brexit” from the European Union to Donald Trump’s infamous wall and...

Former Minneapolis Fed President Kocherlakota, and now a professor at the University of Rochester used this Great Graphic in a recent Bloomberg column. Kocherlakota was a dove when he was at the Fed and remains dovish.  He is concerned that...

Barack Obama began his presidency with a dramatic gesture, which captured the world’s imagination and won him the Nobel Peace Prize. Speaking in Prague in 2009, he declared that the United States would work towards abolishing nuclear weapons. Since then,...

The US dollar is going nowhere fast.  It is narrowly mixed against the major currencies.  The market waits for fresh trading incentives, with much hope placed on Yellen's presentation at Jackson Hole at the end of the week.  Is it...

In December 2015, China announced that its priorities for the upcoming G20 Hangzhou summit were to make the global economy more innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive. However, China is struggling to deliver practical outcomes in these areas because many of...

The US dollar is mostly little changed against the majors, as befits a summer session.  There are two exceptions.  The first is the New Zealand dollar.  Comments by the central bank's governor played down the need for urgent monetary action...

The US dollar has fallen against all the major currencies this month. Even the pound has gained about 0.3% against the heavy greenback.  What is most striking about the dollar's decline is that is has taken place despite a modest...

Last week, some market participants were giving more credence to what seemed like dovish FOMC minutes than to NY Fed President Dudley's remarks that accused investors of complacency over the outlook for rates.  Yesterday, Vice-Chairman of the Federal Reserve Fischer...

The US dollar lost ground against nearly all the major currencies last week. The sole exceptions were the Australian dollar, where pressure ahead of the weekend following Moody's decision to cut the outlook for five Australian banks wiped out the previous...

ASEAN member states do not count for much in the global economy on their own. Indonesia, the biggest economy in Southeast Asia, has a GDP of US$861 billion, but that is still smaller than the economy of Tokyo. Yet combined,...