Markets

Forget shirt-fronting Russian President Vladimir Putin. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s most challenging task in the summit season was breaking an uncomfortable silence with Chinese president Xi Jinping. And he had to do it twice: first at the APEC meeting...

Taken at face value, David Cameron’s warning this week about risks in the global economy sounds like it might be wonderfully prescient. Here’s the country’s economic chauffeur, carefully checking his instrument gauges, and sure enough, sees the same signs today...

A direct link has been established between Hong Kong and Shanghai’s stock exchanges. The so-called Stock Connect means investors in Hong Kong can now buy shares listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange via their local brokers and vice versa. This...

On 17 December 2013, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issued Japan’s first National Security Strategy (NSS). The document declares that Japan will make a more ‘proactive contribution to peace’ based on the principle of international cooperation. It also outlines three basic...

The past week has seen big breakthroughs in Asia Pacific economic diplomacy. At the APEC summit, Xi Jinping and Shinzo Abe broke the diplomatic ice in the China–Japan relationship. The United States and China paved the way towards extending the...

The overall theme today appears to be one of consolidation, encouraged by European data, which included a slightly higher than expected UK CPI and a considerably better German ZEW survey.  Japan's Prime Minister Abe has not disappointed the market, delaying...

Overall, the economies of Asia are a bull element in global recovery and long-term development. The advanced countries, although less so now the United States, remain a drag on the world economy with no sign that Europe is likely to...

The APEC summit has only just ended, but like the return of hazy skies over Beijing, clouds of uncertainty surrounding the regional forum have again drifted overhead. This is familiar weather for APEC, a grouping that has faced questions about...

There were few notable developments out of the G20 meeting that would directly impact EM markets.  However, the escalating tensions with Russia made evident in the meeting have increased to the point that it could again lead to spillover effects....

The US dollar is mostly higher to start the week, with two exceptions. The first is the yen. The unexpected contraction in Q3 GDP triggered a stock market slide (Nikkei off 3%, giving back around 40% of this year’s gains)...

The investment climate rests on three legs:  the divergence that is characterized by the de-synchronized business cycle, the decline in commodity prices and a slowing of China.   Data that underscores these factors appear to have stopped having much significance...

India was one of the hardest hit of the emerging markets after the US Federal Reserve first hinted it would cut back its quantitative easing program in May 2013. There were three reasons for this. First, global markets over-reacted. Second,...

The perception about India has changed dramatically in recent months.  There was widespread disenchantment with the lackadaisical leadership of the previous government that lacked a coherent economic strategy and vision to reinvigorate growth. The perception about India has changed dramatically...

1) Hong Kong indicated it would lift the CNY20k limit for daily currency limit for Hong Kong residents 2) Moody's upgraded the outlook on Hungary’s Ba1 rating from negative to stable 3) South African politics are heating up 4) Moody's downgraded South Africa...

With considerable pomp and circumstance – and at considerable expense – it fell to China to host the annual APEC summit this year. If it lives long in the memory at all, the meeting will probably be remembered for a...