With Brexit, the pressure on Italian banks, and the surge and then sell-off in the yen, Spain may have been pushed off some investors’ radar screens. There are three important developments to note. The first...
After plummeting 18.6 cents, mostly in a few hours after it became clear that the Brexit would carry the day, sterling has rallied four cents from the low set on Monday. We recognized that the...
The risk that the UK votes to leave the EU next week is the dominant force in the capital markets. It is a continuation of what was seen at the end of last week. Sterling...
For various reasons, well beyond the scope of this short note, China has amassed huge industrial capacity, well beyond its ability to absorb. In part, that is one of the challenges that the “One Belt...
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that minutes of a meeting in China two months ago reveal that officials there have abandoned their commitment to give market forces greater sway in setting the yuan’s exchange...
It has been long recognized by the investment community that power in Turkey was concentrated in Erdogan’s hands. He enjoys incredible power in the ceremonial presidential post and brooks no rivals. Common among authoritarian leaders...
Under Kuroda’s leadership the BOJ has surprised the market a number of times, most recently with the move to negative rates at the end of January. It is not that such a move, which has...
At the IMF/World Bank meetings this week, Chinese officials are again pushing for greater use of the IMF’s unit of account, Special Drawing Rights. It is China’s turn as the rotating host of the G20,...
Helicopter money is the rage. Central banks are talking about it. Economists are debating it. The media is rife with coverage. While it sounds important, it is not precisely clear what helicopter money means. It...
Deflation is portrayed as the great economic scourge. It exacerbates debt servicing costs and encourages consumers to defer purchases. Central banks in Japan and Europe have responded with aggressive, unorthodox measures, often combining asset purchase...
The concept of moral economy was first used by 18th-century thinkers trying to make sense of the rising capitalist values. In feudal society, a “fair price” was preferred over a free price especially for the necessities...
For at least a couple of years before the Great Financial Crisis, policymakers often cautioned that investors were mispricing risk. Through the crisis, investors became painfully aware of many risks, including counterparty risk and reputation...
