Markets

On Independence Day 2014, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his financial inclusion plan to provide a bank account to every Indian household. His ‘Jan-Dhan Yojana’ (Scheme for People’s Wealth) — which, in typical Modi vernacular, plays on rhyming words...

The launch of the new 4-year lending facility by the European Central Bank was disappointing.  Participation was light.  Some 255 banks (of 382 eligible institutions, which represent more than 1300 entities) borrowed a total of 82.6 bln euros.  The consensus...

The  Scotland vote today is the main event, and as important as a "yes" vote would be, it is not the only event today.  And there is not much more to add to the discussion.  While the polls remain a...

A recent report from Greenpeace found that China's coal consumption declined in the first half of this year and new Chinese government data suggests that the country's coal imports have dropped. Estimates indicate that by the end of the year,...

The youth of Japan appear to face a bleak future — a catastrophic budget deficit, ageing population and collapsing social security system. Despite this, according to data released last year, Japan’s youth are astonishingly positive in their outlook. In the...

The week's key events kick-off today as the FOMC starts its two-day meeting.   Thursday features Scotland's referendum, the ECB's TLTRO and the SNB's meeting.  Consolidative trading continues to be the dominant theme.  The dollar has been largely confined to...

Indian economic data in July on industrial growth and inflation was disappointing. Industrial sector growth slowed to 3.4 per cent in June 2014 with the manufacturing sector, the largest component, growing at an anemic 1.8 per cent. But the more...

The visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to India this week, so early in the term of India’s new Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, underlines the growing strategic weight of the relationship between the two countries. Modi’s prime ministership, with its...

The creation of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging economies is a landmark achievement. Developing nations have lost faith in the current system with its strict conditions on development finance and...

Since the onset of the North Atlantic financial crisis (NAFC) in 2008, central banks in the US and the other major advanced economies have pursued highly accommodative monetary policy, including through unconventional policy actions. Policy rates have been near zero...

The Yes vote has taken a narrow lead, but the vote is too close to call ahead of September 18’s vote on Scottish independence. Increasingly, however, many Scots are saying ‘what have we got to lose by separating from a...

The World Bank and Asian Development Bank have recently advocated the importance of Indonesia’s manufacturing sector. Manufacturing is considered a key sector for the advancement of the country’s overall economy and as an important source of formal employment. The reality...

The global recovery is strengthening but remains weak. A global growth target, pursued by the G20, could significantly strengthen this recovery process. But such a macroeconomic target needs to be supported by microeconomic reforms. The global recovery is strengthening but...

The Japanese economy continues to defy gravity despite a Mount Fuji of debt that has no parallel in Western countries, and the worst problem of demographics among all the world’s rich nations. Japan’s net debt-to-GDP ratio is about 135%, even...

The ASEAN Economic Community, planned to come into effect in 2015, is expected to liberalise goods, capital and skilled labour flows in the ASEAN region. While there has been considerable progress in the area of trade integration, financial integration still...