Markets

For Vietnam’s leadership, 2014 was another year of growing into a role as an increasingly active international player, both diplomatically and economically. Two events — the Haiyang 981 oilrig incident and TPP accession negotiations — gave Vietnam a place in...

The emphatic victory of Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the December 2014 lower house election masks a quiet power shift toward liberal-centre forces, away from nationalist right-wing forces. What this shift portends is a crucial question...

Oil prices have continued to slide.  Brent briefly traded below $50.  WTI is below $48.  Both have fallen about 10% this week.  Prices are stabilizing in late morning in Europe.  However, unlike yesterday, the fall in oil prices is not...

After Greek elections, Brussels and Berlin can no longer shun the issue of debt relief. Before the New Year, the Hellenic parliament rejected the nominee of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras for president. In accordance with the Greek constitution, a general election...

Regionalism in Asia led by global value chains (GVCs) and free trade agreements (FTAs) has increasingly put the spotlight on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). As one of Asia’s success stories in internationalization, Malaysia offers interesting insights. Drawing on research...

Vietnam will begin 2015 on a fairly sound economic footing. The national economy has largely recovered from Hanoi’s ill-advised efforts to mitigate the impact of the 2009 Great Recession. That sobering experience exposed structural weaknesses which, left unfixed, could condemn...

The story of 2014 in India was the story of Narendra Modi’s rise from chief minister of Gujarat to prime minister of India. Son of a tea stall owner and once associated with the 2002 massacre of Muslims on his...

2015 might be a very important year for many economies across the globe. Last quarter of 2014, saw many fluctuations in the economic indicators of different countries. While US ended 2014 with a good performance, Russia faced double trouble with...

Oil prices are tumbling with Brent approaching $51 and WTI near $48.5.  This follows yesterday's announcement by Saudi Arabia of deeper discounts next month for the US and Europe.  This was a further confirmation that it adheres to its market...

EM has started the year by extending many of the trends present towards the end of last year. The ruble is on the defensive along with Brazilian assets, while the Shanghai Composite continues to rally. The continued fall in oil...

It became clear in 2014 that Xi Jinping was the dominant leader of China. Even President Obama recognised this at the end of the year, stating that no recent Chinese leader had consolidated power as quickly as Xi since Deng...

Two years before an election was due, President Percy Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka has called an early poll for 8 January, seeking an unprecedented third term in office made possible by his revision of the constitution. Two years before...

Sri Lanka’s president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has called a snap mid-term election on 8 January 2015, two years ahead of schedule, in a bid to win a third term in office. What was largely expected to be a one-horse race has...

In very early Asian markets, participants responded to Draghi's sovereign bond buying hints, and Merkel's seeming willingness to let Greece leave EMU by sending the euro to a low of $1.1865, according to Bloomberg.  The thin conditions exacerbated the move,...

The investment climate is being shaped by four forces:1.  De-synchronized business cycle with the US ahead of the pack2.  The prospects of sovereign bond purchases by the ECB, amid political uncertainty sparked by Geece's snap election3.  The continued drop in...