Markets

The European Court of Justice upheld the principle of making creditors bear the burden for investment in banks that sour before government funds could be used.  Italian banks are particularly sensitive to the ruling, which cannot be appealed because the...

In East Asia, rapid income growth in the second half of last century has produced unprecedented and rapid population ageing. Rising living standards and incomes tend to induce longer lifespans and fewer births per woman, leading to dramatic increases in...

On 4 November 2014, Lieutenant-Colonel Chizu Kurita of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force became the first Japanese military officer to be attached to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) headquarters in Brussels. As advisor to the NATO Special Representative for Women,...

South Korea’s economic rise since the 1960s could be attributed to many factors: its geographic position, a homogenous and hard-working population, sound economic governance exercised by authoritarian governments, and a conducive geopolitical environment. It has economically matured, having raised its...

After last Friday’s failed coup attempt in Turkey, a measure of calm has returned to global markets.  We did not think Turkish developments have wide-reaching implications for EM assets, but we do remain very negative on Turkish assets in the...

EM ended last week on a soft note, due in large part to the attempted coup in Turkey.  Weakness in the lira spilled over into wider EM weakness in thin Friday afternoon market conditions.  The situation in Turkey has calmed,...

Since the UK voted to leave the EU, emerging market equities have outperformed equities from the developed markets.  This Great Graphic, composed on Bloomberg, shows the MSCI Emerging Market equities (yellow line) and the MSCI World Index of developed equities...

Compared with its Asian near neighbours, Indonesia has long been tolerant of same-sex sexuality and transgenderism. Unlike Singapore and Malaysia, Indonesia never criminalised homosexuality and has been accommodating of transgender people. Compared with its Asian near neighbours, Indonesia has long...

The US dollar is broadly mixed against the major currencies.  The Swiss franc's 0.25% gain puts it at the top of the board, after sterling's earlier gains were largely unwound in late-morning turnover.  The yen is the weakest major, extending...

Reining in big business? Chris Radburn / PA Wire The most radical proposal for the extension of workplace democracy in a generation has been made not by Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, but by Theresa May, the UK’s new prime minister....

Headed for number 11. Dominic Lipinski / PA Wire Philip Hammond, the UK’s new Chancellor of the Exchequer, has a lot on his plate. He faces a slowing economy urgently in need of stimulus. He confronts tough choices over public spending...

Most of us have never known a world where the United States was not the preeminent power. Now things are starting to look rather different. Not only is much of the global economy stuck in an underperforming rut, but there...

One of the most hotly debated topics in development economics is what does it take to steer a poor country from Third World to First World status? It is a debate of particular relevance in Africa, which is home to...

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, have won 70 of the 121 seats up for grabs in the upper house triennial elections held on Sunday 10 July. The seats obtained in the...

China is undergoing profound changes in its economic policy and structure. These changes represent a new model of Chinese economic growth. The recent Five Year Plan (FYP) is an evolutionary document. Building on earlier official statements on the new model...