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...
In a bid to bolster the electricity generation capacity of the energy-poor nation, the government is looking to build several coal-fired plants in the coming years. But activists oppose them citing environmental risks. The plan...
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...
The decline of US manufacturing in the cacophony of regional and national indices, which started in mid-2014, is a sight to behold. Today we got two national indices for April. Both added more gloom to the...
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...
Another retailer is heading for bankruptcy. This time Aeropostale, with 800 teen-clothing stores, after three years in a row of losses. It’s “preparing to reorganize under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and could file as soon as this...
Tehran will not participate in an output cap agreement to stabilize oil prices, said Iran’s oil minister. Analysts warned that OPEC’s failure to strike a deal could have a severe impact on oil markets. Qatar’s...
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,...
The March BoJ Tankan showed that Japanese companies are feeling the chill in their business condition and starting to prepare for continued deteriorations ahead. The business condition DI for large manufacturers deteriorated from 12 in...
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...
The Census Bureau announced today that total business sales in January did what they’d been doing relentlessly for the past one-and-a-half years: they fell! This time by 1.1% from a year ago, to $1.296 trillion,...
China’s industrial overcapacity is not only because of excess planning but because the country is becoming more modern. The economy will not collapse as a result, says DW’s Frank Sieren. Time’s up for thousands of...
