Can Indonesia’s manufacturing sector be helped with a new industrial policy?
The World Bank and Asian Development Bank have recently advocated the importance of Indonesia’s manufacturing sector. Manufacturing is considered a key sector for the advancement of the country’s overall economy and as an important source of formal employment. The reality...
Should the G20 have a global growth target?
The global recovery is strengthening but remains weak. A global growth target, pursued by the G20, could significantly strengthen this recovery process. But such a macroeconomic target needs to be supported by microeconomic reforms. The global recovery is strengthening but...
How long can Japan sustain its Mount Fuji of debt?
The Japanese economy continues to defy gravity despite a Mount Fuji of debt that has no parallel in Western countries, and the worst problem of demographics among all the world’s rich nations. Japan’s net debt-to-GDP ratio is about 135%, even...
Banking integration in ASEAN gathers pace
The ASEAN Economic Community, planned to come into effect in 2015, is expected to liberalise goods, capital and skilled labour flows in the ASEAN region. While there has been considerable progress in the area of trade integration, financial integration still...
US Dollar Consolidating in Month-end
The US dollar is consolidating, largely within yesterday's ranges. Month-end and quarter-end hedge and portfolio adjustments are notoriously difficult to predict. There is also large option expires today. Given the EU Summit this weekend, a holiday in the US on...
Blowing the lid off food safety in China
In July, Shanghai’s Dragon TV exposed illegal food handling practices by Shanghai Husi Food Co., a major meat supplier to multinational corporations such as McDonald’s and KFC. The story, which was the result of months of undercover investigative journalism and...
Coal Tax Increase Scales Up Indian Renewables
India needs economic growth for sustainable development, which in turn requires access to clean, convenient and reliable energy. An estimated 400 million people still lack access to electricity, and blackouts are still common across the country. A combination of rapidly...
Firmer Dollar Against Most Currencies Except the Sterling
Amid light new, the US dollar is slightly firmer against most of the major currencies, except sterling. Carney's comments over the weekend, suggesting that the BOE will not necessarily wait for wages to rise before hiking rates, helped lift sterling...
Capital Markets Subdued, European Markets Thinned by Assumption Day
The capital markets are subdued. European markets have been thinned by the Assumption Day holiday. The US dollar is a bit softer against most of the major currencies, except the Japanese yen. Equity and bond markets are mostly firmer as...
Growth Flatlines in Euro Zone Following Unexpected Contraction in German Economy
The euro zone economy stagnated in Q2, as the rest of the region offset the unexpected 0.2% contraction in the German economy. The implied yield of the German bund future dipped below 1.0%, though the yield in the cash market...
Sterling Pushed Down Following Bank of England’s Quarterly Inflation Report
Today will likely prove to be the most eventful of the week. It has already featured Q2 Japanese GDP, a slew of Chinese data, euro zone industrial output and UK employment and the BOE's quarterly inflation report. Still to...
NDB and AIIB Initiatives Sound Global Finance Wake Up Call
July 2014 marked the seventieth anniversary of the Bretton Woods conference, which laid the foundation for the post-WWII international financial system. The conference established the IMF to stabilize the world economy and the World Bank to finance post-war reconstruction. Both...
Weekly Preview: Emerging Markets Set the Tone
With many major idiosyncratic EM risk events now behind us, the general tone will be almost entirely set by the mood in developed markets and ongoing geopolitical events. Still, we think the recent sell-off in global financial markets may have...
Slower Growth for China on the Horizon
China’s growth outlook is the focus of analysts and economic policymakers all around the world. Nobody can afford now to ignore the scale of the economy and its impact on the global growth outlook. China already accounts for more than...
Geopolitical Risks Ahead of the Weekend as Falling Yields Weigh on Dollar
The key driver of the global capital market is the heightened geopolitical risks ahead of the weekend. These now include the US air strikes in Iraq, as well as a sense that the situation in the Ukraine is reaching an...