Facing unemployment, austerity and scandal, Brazil struggles to keep it together

Jan 27, 2017 08:23 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics Economy

As if 134 deaths in a two-week rash of prison riots were not dramatic enough for Brazil, on January 19 a plane crash killed Teori Zavascki, the Supreme Court justice overseeing a high-profile nation-wide corruption case...

BoJ unexpectedly increases bond buying plans to limit yields growth, no policy change expected next week

Jan 27, 2017 07:55 am UTC| Economy Central Banks

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) surprised the market Friday by increasing its buying in 5-10 year bonds, trying to keep the 10-year JGB yields near zero. This move comes after the central bank unexpectedly skipped widely...

Indonesia FDI dips slightly in 2016 on lower inflows in mining sector

Jan 27, 2017 06:55 am UTC| Economy Commentary

Indonesia total foreign direct investment (FDI) came in at 28.9 billion U.S. dollar (USD) in 2016, tad lower than the USD 29.3 billion recorded a year earlier, reported the Investment Coordinating Board of Indonesia...

Singapore industrial production jumps unexpectedly in December, U.S. trade protectionism a headwind in future

Jan 27, 2017 06:45 am UTC| Economy Commentary

Singapore industrial production jumped unexpectedly in December. This was another month of a good showing in the industrial production index but the outcome is way above expectation. Headline industrial production...

Japan consumer inflation rises 0.3 pct in 2016, misses market expectations

Jan 27, 2017 05:52 am UTC| Commentary Economy

Japanese consumer prices rose 0.3 percent on year in December, comes above the market expectations of 0.2 percent growth, down from prior 0.5 percent, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on...

Global Geopolitics Series

Push for a Commonwealth trading bloc further politicises free trade

Jan 27, 2017 02:23 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

A UK-based lobby group has come up with an idea that has been endorsed by Australian and British politicians alike - a Commonwealth trading bloc. The Free Enterprise Group (FEG) made its case in its Reconnecting with...

Markets pricing in around 50 pct chance of ECB rate hike by Jan 2018

Jan 26, 2017 16:39 pm UTC| Commentary Economy

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in its latest speech called on the bank to unwind ultra-expansionary policy in 2017. While the blocs inflation quickened to a three-year high of 1.1 percent y/y in December 2016,...