Markets

Press reports suggest that the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is considering unconventional monetary policies, including direct purchases of local government bonds and/or some sort of long-term refinancing operation (LTRO) using local government bonds as collateral.  While there is no...

The Abe administration’s policy of separating the organisational interests of JA-Zenchu, the peak body of agricultural cooperatives (JA), from the interests of the prefectural central unions (chÅ«Åkai) and local cooperatives and farmers generally paid off in April’s local government elections....

  Norway is often held aloft as an example that the UK could follow in discussions about a potential British exit from the EU (the so-called Brexit). The Norwegian experience with the EU is unique. It shows it is possible for a...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka reflects New Delhi’s changed foreign policy priorities. It signals that India is no longer willing to be outmanoeuvred in the Indian Ocean region — its strategic backyard....

It is a mixed start of the week for EM, though the short-term outlook is constructive.  The rebound in commodity prices has changed relative risk perception across the producer-importer spectrum.  Iron ore, for example, is up some 25% since the...

China’s revival of ‘South–South’ economic relations raises the opportunity of re-balancing global power. This could have profound implications for economic progress, including poverty reduction and structural change, in the developing world. China’s revival of ‘South–South’ economic relations raises the opportunity...

Reforms of the financial sector in Indonesia since 1997 have mitigated the key risk factors that caused the economic crisis of 1997. The first of these was structural weaknesses in the financial sector, particularly the banking system. The second was...

Over the last week, Hungary (+4.8%), Brazil (+4.6%), and Russia (+4.4%) have outperformed in the EM equity space as measured by MSCI, while India (-4.5%), Thailand (-2.3%), and Egypt (-2.0%) have underperformed.  To put this in better context, MSCI EM...

Xi Jinping’s recent announcement of the Four Comprehensives is crucial to reform in the Chinese Communist Party (CPC). The Four Comprehensives are likely to be put forward as Xi’s contribution to the CPC theoretical canon, providing the ideological legitimacy for...

In the last five years, austerity has undermined our public services, lowered the living standards of working people, pushed more children into poverty and held back economic growth. Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish first minister and Scottish National Party leader at the party’s...

Talks between China and South Korea on boundary delimitation in the Yellow Sea offer a chance to improve bilateral relations and the prospect of extending the agreement to other seas, in particular the South China Sea. Talks between China and...

It may seem fairly obvious, but only those people who fulfil particular requirements are given voting rights in an election. In Japan, voters must be Japanese citizens aged 20 or over and have a registered address in a municipality within...

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to Australia in mid-March 2015 has highlighted how Australia–Vietnam relations relate to the broader strategic picture in the Asia Pacific. While much attention is paid to ‘the rise of China’, the ‘Pacific pivot’...

Given the absence of any major US data, China and Europe will attract the markets attention.  EM sentiment starts the week caught in a crosscurrent.  Given the absence of any major US data, China and Europe will attract the markets...

Indonesia has come a long way since former president Suharto adopted a new economic stabilisation policy in 1996. However, the country must take steps to improve infrastructure and enhance data measurement if it is to realise its economic potential. Indonesia...