In case anyone was wondering, the title of this edition of Economic Insights is a misquotation from the C19 English poet Robert Browning and constitutes, therefore, a literary upgrade to the previous edition’s self-indulgent punning...
SoftBank has apparently dropped Saudi Arabia as an investor for its new fund after the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. It has vowed to accelerate the “AI revolution” through investment in leading companies. Japan-based SoftBank...
The EU and Japan will soon become the world’s biggest free trade area. But this record might be short-lived with Brussels chasing a deal with South America’s Mercosur, EU’s Cecilia Malmström has said. After the trade...
There is little reprieve from the equity meltdown ahead of the weekend. Major markets in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, China, India, and Australia pushed lower. The MSCI index of the region is near 15-month...
Foreign private-sector investors and “foreign official” investors – central banks, governments, etc. – whittled down their holdings of US Treasury Securities by $21 billion at the end of July, compared to a year ago, to...
US President Donald Trump remains focused on reducing the American trade deficit, and Japan may be the next target. An American newspaper cites the president as saying he wants to make Tokyo “pay” for its...
The Japanese yen has been sold following the adjustments to policy and outlook by the BOJ that will allow the unconventional policies continue for an “extended period of time.” Cross rate pressure and month-end demand...
Central bankers around the world are puzzled by the lack of inflationary pressures despite decent economic growth. Some of them are now blaming the so-called Amazon effect for the phenomenon. The Japanese central bank has...
Australia, the US, India and Japan are talking about plans for a regional scheme to counterbalance China’s growing influence, a report says. A US official spoke of an “alternative” rather than a “rival” plan. Australia,...
The Financial Crisis in the US was a consequence of too much debt and too much risk, among numerous other factors, and the whole house of cards came down. Now, after eight years of experimental...
The preliminary wage report for September 2017 showed a moderate acceleration in nominal wages. Basic and overtime wages rose by 0.7% year on year (YoY) in September, accelerating from 0.4% YoY in August. The 0.7%...
There have been two developments in German and Japanese politics that will likely have implications for future policy. Let’s review the developments and consider the implications for investors. There is much talk of the Jamaica...
