Markets

Japan should seriously consider joining the new China-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), regardless of the scheme’s detractors within the country. Chinese President Xi Jinping first proposed the AIIB in 2013. Beijing signed up 21 founding member nations in October...

Despite recent success in generating jobs and overcoming the stresses caused by the financial crisis better than many other countries, the UK economy still has many problems. The economy faces a large balance of trade deficit, £34.8 billion in 2014,...

The final Budget before the general election is fast approaching. Separated from the election by just 50 days, it is not likely to lack political content. But the key issue remains the deficit – and how successful George Osborne can...

In July 2014, the Abe government adopted the ‘Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology’, which approved Japanese weapons exports as long as certain conditions are met. Based on this new, less restrictive policy on weapons exports Japan...

The British economy has not been a pretty sight in recent years. GDP per capita was 15.8% lower in 2014 than we would expect from historical pre-2008 trends. Austerity has certainly played a role in this poor performance, but is...

Recent events have reignited separatist conflict in the Philippines. Recent events have reignited separatist conflict in the Philippines. In the early hours of 25 January 2015, commandos of the police Special Action Force (SAF) set out to capture or kill...

Indonesia’s Natuna Islands could become yet another security flashpoint in the South China Sea. The islands’ proximity to the disputed areas in the South China Sea, and isolation from Jakarta, makes it one of Indonesia’s most vulnerable regions. Any effective...

Lest we be too quick to forget whence we came, America is now 9-months into lower gasoline prices, which started their swoon the week of June 30, 2015 from a lofty national average just under $3.70, tumbling almost every subsequent...

Bank Indonesia (BI) surprised everyone when it eased monetary policy at its February meeting. Moving into line with global trends, it cut the policy interest rate by 25 basis points to 7.5 percent, even though analysts had predicted no change....

China’s GDP growth rate is decelerating, due to international headwinds, property markets and local debt. Nevertheless, China’s long-term potential remains impressive, as reflected by the new growth target. As the 5,000 members of the two sessions – the National People's...

Indonesian President, Joko Widodo’s (Jokowi) decision to embark on his first official overseas visit has been overshadowed by domestic controversy. The planned meet-and-greet with the leaders of Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines seemed to be a way of escaping the...

EM is starting the week on its back foot, continuing the trend seen for most of this past month.  The dollar is making multi-year highs against many EM currencies, including BRL, COP, MXN, TRY, ZAR, IDR, and SGD.  MSCI EM...

Over the last week, Egypt (+2.4%), Korea (+0.8%), and India (+0.7%) have outperformed in the EM equity space as measured by MSCI, while Brazil (-9.4%), Colombia (-8.0%), and Turkey (-7.7%) have underperformed.  To put this in better context, MSCI EM...

Despite poor weather that appears to have effected other February data, the US jobs report is stronger than expected.  The economy grew 295k net new jobs, nearly all accounted for by the private sector (+288k). Some of the other details were...

As China appears to be flirting with the middle income trap, the old development model is becoming increasingly unworkable. In its place, the ‘new normal’ is emerging as a valuable notion. But to work it needs increased corporate competition, integrated...