Markets

The race is on between the United States and China to dominate the rules-setting game for trade by being the first to be able to announce plans for a free trade area in the Pacific Rim. China hopes to use...

If the APEC meeting can agree on the proposed regional free trade plan and a reasonable implementation schedule, it would take a leap into faster regional growth and prosperity.The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum on November 10-11 will take place...

Since taking office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made efforts to entice foreign investment into India and to establish closer ties with Japan. Warm diplomatic gestures between Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have garnered considerable attention, with some...

Foreign policy is a search for and an attempt to impose order on an unruly world. That task has become more difficult in recent years, with an ever-lengthening list of threats, challenges and destabilising factors. The rise of Asia in...

Three companions enjoyed a midday meal.  The first says, “I’m satiated.  The food and drink have done the trick.  I'm ready to return to work."  The second says he still has room for a dessert to top off the wonderful...

The drop in oil prices since mid-year has been a significant development even though the broader ramifications for world growth, prices and policy are only now being worked out.  Just as the inflation predicated in the US as a consequence...

Xi Jinping has tackled serious domestic and foreign policy challenges since he assumed leadership in November 2012. He has put great effort into an astonishingly large-scale domestic anti-corruption campaign and has invested diplomatically in enhancing China’s image as a major...

There is good news and bad news about the recent string of victories of the ‘Red and White’ coalition in the Indonesian parliament. The good news is that unlike previous Indonesian presidents, President Joko Widodo — popularly known as Jokowi...

Overall, the investment climate for EM is likely to remain negative in this strong dollar environment.  A weaker than expected official China PMI over the weekend didn't help matters. Indeed, most of the Asian PMI readings out already came in...

There are three elements to the investment climate:  The divergence between the US on one hand and Europe and Japan on the other, the drop in many commodity prices, including oil, and the slowing of the Chinese economy.  Last week,...

Regional economic cooperation in Asia and across the Pacific was developed around the idea of open regionalism and building the capacity for regional development in the global, multilateral trading system. Global institutions — the GATT and then the WTO —...

The effects of Japan’s feed-in tariff (FIT) for renewable energy have been impressive. Since 2011, Japan has seen a massive expansion of solar photovoltaics (PV). The size of the domestic market increased from 1GW in 2010 to almost 7GW in...

1) Indonesian Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said the government will probably raise subsidized fuel prices before year-end 2) Dilma Rousseff was re-elected as President of Brazil 3) Brazil’s central bank delivered a hawkish surprise too on Wednesday, hiking rates by 25 bp...

In August, the Appellate Body of the WTO ruled that China’s export duties, quotas, and administration of rare earths, tungsten and molybdenum products violated various provisions of the GATT and the Accession Protocol that China promised to implement when it...

The market is generally expecting a dovish FOMC statement. We have argued that it will most likely be little changed, except for modification relating to the asset purchases. Keen interest will be on its references to inflation.   The market...