It’s an Italian Thing

Italian Prime Minister has set the date for the constitutional referendum as late as practically possibly.  It will be held on December 4.  The issue is the perfect bicameralism that gives as much power to the Senate as the Chamber of Deputies.  Italian Prime Minister has set the date...

Employer Insurance Premium Growth – Still a Problem

Upward pressure on US consumer prices is stemming from two elements.  Rents and medical services.   Due to the differences in the composition of the basket of goods and services that are used, the core personal consumption deflator, which the Fed targets, typically lags behind core CPI.  Upward pressure on...

Does Japan’s Democracy Have Room for Women and Children?

A wave of political activism has animated East Asian politics: Taiwan’s Sunflower Student Movement in 2014, South Korean 2015 street protests against President Park’s new labour law, and protests in Japan in 2015 against Prime Minister Abe’s security bills. Youth activism was common to all these movements. Facing challenges...

Move Over Oil, It’s LNG

During this year’s G7 summit, Japan announced its vision of creating a LNG market to meet increasing energy demand. Natural resource markets are a foundation for trade and economic development. What is less well known is the close link between the natural resource markets and the currency markets. During...

Remember September (for Jobs Data)

Let's admit that the monthly non-farm payroll report is among the most difficult for economists to forecast.  There are not many reliable inputs as it is the first piece of real sector data for a new month.  Nevertheless, it is an important piece of economic data, and which, as...