Markets

It was a close call.  After Australia's leading banks lifted the variable rate mortgage rates recently, many observers expected the Reserve Bank of Australia to offset the tightening with a rate cut in early November.  Others emphasized that the variable...

By the time I met Grace, she had been in Australia on a bridging visa for about 18 months. Part way into the interview, she reached for a stack of papers in her bag. “Let me show you something… this...

The House of Lords has voted to delay the government’s plans to cut tax credits. The cuts form a significant component (more than a third) of the Conservative government’s plans to reduce the UK’s welfare bill by £12 billion. However,...

There is still no date for the UK’s EU referendum and the deadline of 2017 may seem a long way off, but the “In” campaign is starting late and on the back foot for several reasons. Most Britons are naturally...

Africa’s prosperity increasingly depends on China. Given recent signs of a slowdown in the world’s largest economy, Africa’s short- and long-term outlooks seem precarious.  The latest sign arrived on October 23 when China cut two benchmark interest rates to spur...

On 14 August, the day before the 70th anniversary of the end of the Pacific War, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issued a long-awaited statement on Japanese memory of the war and his vision for the future. In it, he...

Every nation deserves a visionary leader, from whom its citizens can expect real results. India has had its share of visionary leaders. Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, to name two, held views on the economy that were not only diametrically...

EM starts the week off on a mixed footing.  On the one hand, hints of ECB stimulus and actual PBOC stimulus last week suggest a more supportive global liquidity backdrop for EM and risk.  On the other hand, they are...

India has pulled ahead of China and United States as the most favoured destination for foreign direct investment (FDI). According to the Financial Times (FT), India received US$31 billion in FDI in 2015, which is US$3 and US$4 billion more...

We just learned America’s rental affordability crisis is as bad as it has ever been. Unfortunately, it is about to get a whole lot worse.  The American Community Survey for 2014, released a few weeks ago, found that the number...

The burst of Japan’s massive financial bubble in 1990 caused the value of stocks, land and other assets to plummet. Japanese banks had financed their asset purchases using them as collateral. Many banks failed due to a combination of the...

The Bank of England has entered the EU referendum debate. Its report, along with comments from Governor Mark Carney, emphasise the benefits that membership of the EU brings the UK. Carney says membership makes the UK more dynamic, giving it...

The haze enveloping Singapore since June 2015 highlights the significance of its bilateral relationship with Indonesia. Just as Singaporeans cannot escape the devastating health impact of ‘slash-and-burn’ deforestation in Sumatra, emerging trends in Indonesia will have an impact on Singapore....

The UK has rolled out the red carpet for Chinese president Xi Jinping on his five-day official visit. He gets the royal treatment, including a stay at Buckingham Palace, a ride in a state carriage along The Mall and several...

In early 2015, Japanese companies, Panasonic and Toshiba, announced that they would stop producing television sets in China. As Japan continues to decrease its investment in China, the two multinational corporations’ partial exit seemed to underscore an overall trend of...