Markets

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...

The US dollar, stocks, and bonds are largely moving within yesterday's ranges as investors wait for fresh developments.  A notable exception to this generalization is oil prices.  News of a potential agreement with Iran weighs on prices, as it is...

EM remains caught in global crosscurrents that are mostly negative. If risk off sentiment ebbs as Greek and Chinese tail risks fall, then that simply brings the focus back on the looming Fed lift-off. We expect EM to remain under...

In the past two decades, China’s state-owned sector has experienced drastic reforms. Paradoxically, today the largest companies are increasingly productive, yet most remain state-owned. In early summer, President Xi Jinping called on officials to deepen reform of state-owned enterprises. China...

There appears to be growing euphoria that it is India’s ‘manifest destiny’ to overtake China and become the fastest growing major economy and a major world power. But unless India successfully introduces productivity reforms and opens its markets, this ‘destiny’...

There are two broad courses for the capital markets in the week ahead. The first is a continuation of what we have experienced for the past two weeks. Greece's financial and political crisis, and the dramatic drop in Chinese shares,...