Markets

This year is shaping up to be another challenging year for bond markets in Asia after a see-saw 2013 which saw prices rise at the start of the year, and then fall back on news that the US Federal Reserve...

Last month, tens of thousands of Chinese workers staged a massive strike at a shoe factory in Dongguan, lasting over two weeks and involving over 40,000 people. The strike was notable for both for its scale and substance – the...

The Chinese economy is on track to replace the U.S. as the world’s largest economy – measured by purchasing power parity (PPP) – by the end of this year, according to a recent World Bank report. But while emerging economies...

The U.S. pivot to Asia has undergone considerable challenges ever since it was first announced in November 2011. Ultimately it is highly unlikely to achieve its main aim – to compel China to accept U.S. leadership in the region. President...

 Abe's reform plan, now in its critical phase, will be derailed if tensions persist, both at home and abroad. After two "lost decades", Japan began its bold but risky reforms a year ago. The new governor of the Bank of...

The concept of environmental capital is throughly entrenched in policy dicussions but largely missing from mainstream economic curriculums. This column argues environmental externalities, climate change, and constraints on natural resources will constantly and deeply affect humankind’s future. The teaching of...

  Contrary to logic, resource-rich countries in Africa have tend to experience less economic growth in the long run than those deprived of natural riches. To reverse this trend, NGOs have been campaigning for greater transparency and accountability in the...

Although not the world’s top military spender, India has been the world’s largest arms importer since 2010. The need to modernise has indeed been one major reason for India’s status as top spender on arms imports. But there are other...

The Cold War has not made a comeback. Rather, the geopolitics of new risks is taking off. The Ukraine crisis is just a tip of the iceberg. Ukraine – On Lifeline Support Despite a tentative agreement on de-escalation in Geneva,...

The world of the popular HBO series Game of Thrones bear striking similarities to that of Western Europe during the 18th century. But whereas the Industrial Revolution saw a rapid advancement in Europe’s society and economy, Westeros has remained the...

Even as ECB officials continue to play down the generalized risk of deflation in region and claim that inflation expectations remain anchored, experts are calling on the central bank to undertake unconventional measures to combat weakness in price pressures that...

The large influx of foreign workers into Singapore has begun to cause tension between immigrants and locals. The obvious solution for the Singaporean government, would be to drastically decrease the number of foreign workers. But here there is a problem:...

 If America’s distributional game continues to create a few big winners and many who consider themselves losers by comparison, the losers will try to stop the game – not out of envy but out of a deep-seated sense of unfairness...

To navigate the U.S. away from the huge monetary stimulus, the Federal Reserve has initiated tapering. But in an integrating world, the emerging economies, especially India, China and Brazil, will see collateral liquidity damage. How will the Fed enforce its...

The rising tensions between China and Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands has led some experts to draw parallels with the Sarajevo incident, which sparked off World War I in Europe. Yet while is a significant risk that the conflict will...