Markets

  The UK’s financial regulatory bodies have shown a surprising "hear no evil" attitude to criminality in its banking and financial sector. At times, the financial regulators almost seemed to want to pretend that criminality and fraud didn't, or couldn't...

As the indebted eurozone countries scramble to find ways to raise liquidity or risk default, contagion threatens to spread across the continent and the globe – an unfortunate reality of globalization and the interdependency of economic and financial markets. However,...

Australia, like all modern economies, needs an assured supply of energy to function effectively. Presently, coal generates about 80 percent of Australia's electrical energy output; but as external sources of fossil fuels continue to decline, a shift to renewable energy...

It is increasingly evident that Europe’s political leaders, for all their commitment to the euro’s survival, do not have a good grasp of what is required to make the single currency work. Public-sector cutbacks today do not solve the problem...

Europe, it seems, is determined to resolve its problems using other people’s money. But there are at least three reasons why the IMF should resist this pressure, and abstain from increasing its (already extremely high) exposure to Europe. Europe, it...

Since China opened up its doors to the world a few decades ago, we’ve witnessed what has been a remarkable Chinese growth spurt. Today, China has the second largest economy in the world, the largest bank by market capitalization, and...

Even if China replaces the US as the world’s largest economy within a decade, a global anchor currency can be more resilient than the economic and geopolitical dominance of its country of origin. That is why the dollar will most...

The US’s and Europe’s woes should be ringing alarm bells across Asia. Although many believe that the region can shrug off almost anything that the rest of the world dishes out, the crises in both regions have intensified Asia’s vulnerability...

The European Union project is facing its biggest test. Regardless of whether the next immediate European crisis is focused on Spain or Italy, it follows that by mid-decade, Europe’s political landscape will have shifted dramatically, with new parties, personalities and...

Back in 1992, Standard and Poor’s downgraded Canada’s triple A credit rating to AA+ amid concerns over its fiscal health. But in just six years, the budget was balanced and Canada won its prized AAA rating back within a decade....

Over the last 25 years, the share of poor people in developing countries has been cut by half, while impressive development successes have been witnessed in countries once thought beyond help, thanks to effective developmental aid. But, while these results...

Poverty rates are on the rise in the Western world, as recession, rising fuel costs and austerity cuts to social welfare benefits, take their toll on the most vulnerable people. But rather than trying to alleviate the problem, most continue...

The mounting problems that continue to plague the US and the eurozone has left many people worried. These problems have also led to numerous paradigm shifts that could potentially alter the face of the entire global economy. With uncertain times...

The year 2011 has been a roller coaster ride of sorts. It began with the Tunisians toppling their authoritarian regime, which we soon realized was a catalyst for what many have labelled the “Arab Spring.” What we then saw was...

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a multilateral free trade agreement that aims to further liberalise the economies of the Asia-Pacific region. While the economics of the TPP is important, the strategic component is even more so. This is the second...