Markets

Despite booming oil production in North America on the back of the shale revolution, many industry forecasts still expect oil prices to remain above $100 a barrel in 2013 – the third consecutive year that oil prices have gone above...

In 1798, British economist Thomas Malthus predicted that a continued population would strip the earth of its resources and eventually lend itself to famine and poverty. While his predictions have not materialised, at least not yet, his work and concept...

India has been labelled the weakest nation in the so-called BRIC alliance, evidenced by foreign investors forsaking the country for more promising emerging markets. Restrictive policies and slow infrastructure investment saw India grow at one of its slowest pace in...

The political paralysis over economic growth in several developed nations have effectively forced central banks to embark on a shift from their conventional monetary policies. But, the best that central banks can do for now is to buy time, while...

The coming of shale gas will magnify the importance of geography. Countries that have considerable shale deposits will be better placed in the 21st century competition between states, and those without such deposits will be worse off – marking a...

The tail risks of a Greek exit from the eurozone or a massive loss of market access in Italy and Spain have been reduced for 2013. But the fundamental crisis of the eurozone has not been resolved, and another year...

America has now suffered around 30 shooting massacres over the past 30 years, including this year’s deadly dozen; each a gut-wrenching tragedy for many families. Today, America’s real freedoms depend on sane public policy and the bloodbath in Newtown is...

  Countries like China and India, which leverage their oil use to a greater extent with more coal use are less affected by a rise in oil prices. This is another reason why jobs are moving to China and India,...

The big news in the last few weeks has been the relatively positive economic data suggesting that Beijing could be in for a rebound. However, the “relief” data tell us nothing about the health of the underlying economy. In fact,...

Despite its sizeable youth population, some fear that India’s much touted demographic dividend is on the verge of going horribly wrong – that the economy may not produce enough jobs to absorb the fast-growing labour force, leaving millions of young...

After a hard-fought campaign, it seems that not much has changed in American politics. Rather, the main cause for celebration has been that America has avoided policies that would have pushed it closer to recession and increased inequality further. After...

Underlying tensions between European countries are gradually emerging as austerity measures imposed by richer economies exacerbate already painful recessions among indebted nations. But while the ECB has managed to stave off an outright economic war between its members for the...

As Washington hunts ill-defined al-Qaeda groups in the Middle East and Africa, and concerns itself with Iran's eventual nuclear potential, it has a much more pressing problem at home: Its energy grid is vulnerable to anyone with basic weapons and...

What are the odds of the renminbi displacing the dollar, and does China want the yuan to become an international reserve currency? Besides the fact that being a major reserve currency would require the complete liberalisation of the capital account...

Equity markets around the world have begun on to fall once more – after enjoying a brief rally that started in July – as consumers, firms, and investors become more cautious and risk-averse. Given the seriousness of the downside risks...