Markets

The differences between Eurozone members tend to be a key focus for investors and policy makers.  There is another fissure which is typically is under-appreciated.  It is within Germany itself and not discussed in polite company.  It is the divide...

EM assets are starting the week mixed, as markets await fresh signals for trading. Between the various central bank meetings in developed markets (BOE, ECB, RBA, and BOC) and the US non-farm payrolls, there are plenty of sources of volatility....

When China’s President Xi Jinping took up his position in 2012, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) lacked political leadership. His predecessor, Hu Jintao, had lost control of political power long before holding the 18th Party Congress. The result was a...

Recent debates on meritocracy raise questions as to what Singapore regards as merit. Several concepts have emerged reflecting how meritocracy is evolving in the Singaporean context, such as ‘compassionate meritocracy’, ‘trickle up meritocracy’ and ‘meritocracy through life’. The 50th anniversary...

Over the last week, Hungary (+2.1%), Mexico (+1.9%), and Malaysia (+1.9%) have outperformed in the EM equity space as measured by MSCI, while Russia (-2.1%), Colombia (-1.9%), and Turkey (-1.2%) have underperformed.  To put this in better context, MSCI EM...

Suggestions that China could claim historic fishing rights within the nine-dash line misinterpret international law. While Sourabh Gupta’s arguments, outlined in a recent Forum article, relating to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Articles 62 and...

Ask people on the street what mental image they associate with the words “stock exchange,” and you’ll likely hear about a large imposing building in the middle of New York or Chicago. Inside the building there is a huge space...

Is inequality in Malaysia going up or down? Answers differ. Official statistics unambiguously show household income inequality going down in the past decade, but almost everyone seems to think it has gone up. So what’s going on? Is inequality in...

Banking activity is growing rapidly in China’s $30tn banking system and even though the country faces a sluggish economy, its banking system consists of some of the largest banks of the world. The combined value of Industrial and Commercial Bank...

US prices are falling.  The 0.7% decline in US consumer prices was the largest monthly drop since December 2008.  Consumer prices in January fell 0.1% from a year ago.  The last time the year-over-year CPI was negative was when the...

Since September 2013, China has been operating a new form of free trade zone (FTZ) based in a small area of Shanghai, called the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (SPFTZ). Only 28 square kilometres in area, the SPFTZ is...

The tale of the recent February Delhi assembly elections shows how quickly political fortunes can decline. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recorded a landslide victory at the 2014 national elections and won a majority of seats in...

When India opted for constitutional democracy in 1947, few gave it much of a chance. India’s diversity was overwhelming and it was home to some of the world’s poorest. But India’s democracy has succeeded beyond the expectations of even the...

Japan’s inward foreign direct investment (FDI) is extremely low in comparison with that of other developed countries and even its Asian neighbours. Japan’s inward foreign direct investment (FDI) is extremely low in comparison with that of other developed countries and...

Will it be China or the US? One is Australia’s largest trading partner, the other its traditional security ally. But what happens if Australia is forced to choose between them — will economics or history win out?Malcolm Fraser, the former...