2011

The soft patch in and of itself is not a problem. There is always some sort of mid-cycle slowdown. The real problem for economic growth bulls (and risk assets) is that this particular soft patch is increasingly likely to be met with…

To sum up: Non-performing loans look to be a full 10% of Chinese GDP. That’s high. The Chinese government is confronting this writedown problem head-on. While a number of analysts have opinions on the measures just taken, it is far from…

The immediate problem is the excess capital investment and the costly maintenance of the projects it has spawned. Longer-term, Asia's growth prospects look good.

What is driving the increase in the RMB-denominated trade is probably not any preference to transact in RMB but rather speculative demand for RMB. That sounds pretty plausible.

Legislation to modify debit-card interchange fees cannot compete with celebrity gossip. It is not surprising that lobbying efforts have changed the minds of 19 senators who formerly aligned themselves with consumers and small banks (to…

Forget about gold for the time being. Investors need to own cash - currency, simply as a hedge against the risk of another derivatives mess down the line.

The financial repression that is being discussed is not in developing countries but in the advanced industrialized countries. The ostensible goal is to support the government bond markets. Moral suasion, the cajoling of investors are soft…

Europe’s monetary union is simply one of the most important experiments of our time. Can the countries whose wars against each other shaped to a large extent the past millennium, if not longer, form a sustainable monetary union without…

Jim Rogers is bullish on Asia. In a twenty-minute interview with the BBC, he explains why? Hat tip Paul Kedrosky. Like Paul, "I find many of his rhetorical tricks maddening" but it is an informative interview nonetheless. Videos below

The Federal Reserve will be on easy street for a long time to come. Real interest rates will remain low, meaning debtors will be favoured over savers. Investors in fixed–income will take it on the chin.