Markets

The rapid rise of China’s outbound direct investment (ODI) in the past decade is a significant economic phenomenon — one met with a lot of resistance in some destination countries, particularly due to the abundance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). However,...

On the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that the Communist Party and the Chinese people would stand firm and defeat illicit drug use through a ‘people’s war’. Xi, not shy about hyperbole,...

Human rights — chiefly political and religious freedoms — have been on the American agenda since Washington and Hanoi resumed direct dialogue about a quarter of a century ago. Though bilateral ties have grown vastly broader, US prodding on civil...

When the Obama administration unveiled its New Silk Road Initiative in October 2011, officials asserted that it was about re-embedding Afghanistan firmly into the economic life of Central Asia through the provision of US assistance to develop infrastructural links between...

EM assets are starting the week under pressure.  Idiosyncratic factors in Brazil (more political noise) and Turkey (election risks and a terrorist attack) meant that these countries are the hardest hit. EM assets are starting the week under pressure.  Idiosyncratic...

On July 21, 2005, China surprised the world by abandoning its peg to the dollar that had been in place since 1995.  It immediately appreciated by 2% and gradually appreciated until the financial crisis hit in 2008.  It then looked...

1) The Mexican oil auctions, while historic, proved to be a bit of a dud, 2) China revealed more support measures, 3) Brazil is considering an amnesty to undeclared funds held abroad, 4) Political tensions are heating up even more...

Negative gearing is a very controversial issue. The latest round of debate stems from the Reserve Bank’s submission to the House of Representative Standing Committee on Economics regarding the enquiry into home ownership. The Bank believed that “there is a...

Britain is on the hunt for new apprentices. George Osborne recently unveiled a levy on large employers to pay for an increase in the number of apprenticeships from 2m to 5m. In addition, as he made the announcement, the chancellor...

Papua New Guinea’s recent period of exponential growth places it among the world’s most rapidly developing economies. Between 2005 and 2014, PNG’s economy expanded at a real annual rate of 6.6 percent and income per capita reached US$2,081. Growth benefitted...

Australian companies will soon be publishing financial results, as well as information about sustainability efforts. Corporate social responsibility of the big four banks - Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), National Australia Bank (NAB)...

When viewed through the lens of trade deals negotiated with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Australia, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Japan has shown recent willingness to engage in global free trade. However, is there any indication that...

Five years ago, few would have expected that China would produce four of the top ten global internet companies (by number of visitors) — Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent, and Sohu — as well as innovative multinationals like Huawei and Xiaomi. Nor...

Unlike many countries in Asia, and indeed in the world, Vietnam is for the moment blessed with a raft of positive economic news. However, beneath the surface, structural problems and a lack of industrial deepening persist. Exports have been growing...

German Finance Minister Schaeuble claims that he raised the possibility of a Greek exit to push for an alternative, and he did so with backing of the Merkel government.  He used the threat of a violating the "irreversible clause" of...