Markets

In January 2015, the Vietnamese government issued a decree on the implementation guidelines of the Vietnamese Labour Code. One of the sections of the decree deals with the resolution of workers’ strikes, which happen mostly in foreign enterprises. Though the...

The nationwide local government elections in April are the ideal opportunity for Japan’s agricultural cooperative organisation (JA) led by the Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA-Zenchu) to respond to the Abe administration’s recent reforms of the JA group. On 12...

Over the last week, China (+8.7%), Russia (+8.1%), and Hong Kong (+6.0%) have outperformed in the EM equity space as measured by MSCI, while Czech Republic (-0.9%), Egypt (-0.9%), and Taiwan (-0.2) have underperformed.  To put this in better context,...

The year 2014 was a great year for the United States economy. However, the year 2015 hasn't been the same. While we are still not in dire straits, we're not seeing the consumer spending and job growth that we saw...

As two mega-regional preferential trade agreements — the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) — loom closer to completion, India must move towards higher trade standards. Trade diversion from non-member countries of these mega-regional trade agreements...

The US dollar has given back most of yesterday's gains though the euro has been unable to resurface above $1.09.  The uptrend that marked most of Q1 has morphed into what appears to be a range affair.  However, the range...

On 19 December 1984, amidst great fanfare, the United Kingdom and China signed the Sino–British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong. It contained extensive guarantees of Hong Kong’s autonomy, rule of law, and fundamental rights — all of...

EM currencies are starting the week off firm, helped by the weak US jobs data on Friday.  While we continue to see the US economy’s weakness in Q1 as transitory, risk sentiment should remain fairly strong near-term as Fed rate...

Dame Meg Taylor is no ordinary woman. The first woman to be appointed to the position of Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum has a proud track record of breaking boundaries on behalf of Pacific women. As PNG’s first...

The US dollar firmed in thin Asian turnover, but now is slightly lower against most currencies as US traders return to their posts.  Many centers remain closed and participation is light. The US dollar firmed in thin Asian turnover, but...

We identify six key issues facing investors: - US economy - Brinkmanship in Athens - Cyclical recovery in Europe - BOJ policy response - RBA meeting - Oil prices US Economy We identify six key issues facing investors: - US...

Timor-Leste’s new Prime Minister, Rui Araujo, has inherited a policy of decentralising the nation’s governance. Given capacity issues, this process is unlikely to bring broader-based rural development to Timor-Leste in the short term. But, if managed effectively, greater decentralisation could...

The US March employment report makes for dismal reading.  Job growth collapsed to 126k, the least monthly total since December 2013. Adding insult to injury, there was a 69k downward revision to this year's job growth. The average workweek slipped...

China’s tax authority announced in February 2015 monitoring multinational firms more closely in an effort to crack down on tax avoidance. The policy is part of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project, which is a collective effort of G20...

Lee Kuan Yew leaves behind an immense legacy. As Singapore’s first statesman, Lee inadvertently became the leader of an independent city-state after Singapore was expelled from Malaysia in 1965. He led a government of very talented officials who together transformed...