Investing in commodities (oil, gas, metals etc.) has gone from being a niche activity to a mainstream portfolio choice in the last fifteen years. This was driven by the long period of fast growth of commodity prices, which made a … Continued
I had the impression that wage inflation in China, especially in the manufacturing heartland of the south, had pushed up wages relative to other low cost economies. But I hadn’t realised how big the gap had become. A new blog … Continued
The latest data on China’s foreign exchange reserves, showing a rise of $130 billion to $3.4 trillion, suggest that capital is flowing into China again after an apparent outflow ahead of the change of government in late 2012. There is also … Continued
The US magazine Foreign Policy recently ran an article titled “Hugo’s Banker” (meaning the late President Chavez of Venezuela) describing as the world’s most powerful banker Mr. Chen Yuan, the Chairman of China Development Bank (CDB). In what sense is … Continued
A sovereign wealth fund (SWF) is an organisation that manages financial and other assets on behalf of a government or nation. But what about the holdings of foreign exchange reserves by central banks? These assets, often much larger in size, … Continued
Every country is unique but some are more unique than others. Japan, though quite obviously not located in the geographic western hemisphere, is part of “the west” as a group of rich democracies with advanced economies. Its inclusion is not … Continued
A key feature of macroeconomic analysis is the relationship between a country’s savings and investment rates. Savings represent income that is not consumed. Investment means spending on assets that will last for some period of time, such as factories, houses, … Continued
Last year a group of MFin students did a consulting project for a specialist energy investment firm, comparing the investment prospects for solar and wind power in China and India. They were very negative about the outlook for China, on … Continued
Every country’s economic relations with the rest of the world are summarised in the balance of payments. This is divided into the current account, which records the flows of trade and income, and the capital account, which records the flows … Continued
Financial repression is a term used by economists which means the government taking ordinary people’s savings to achieve some goal, typically to pay for the government itself, by exploiting imperfections in the financial system. It is an indirect form of … Continued
Australia is often known as the lucky country. Not that all of its history has been lucky but in the last twenty years it has been one of the largest beneficiaries of fast Chinese economic growth. About a quarter of … Continued
A phrase that pops up regularly in Chinese financial and economic commentary is the internationalisation of the RMB (renminbi – the people’s currency). What does this actually mean? Internationalisation is not an official or recognised economics term but China uses … Continued
The myth of the scheming woman is one that pops up in many cultures. In the UK, for example, we talk of Lady Macbeth when we want to describe a devious woman who is held responsible for a hapless mere … Continued
It has been a long time since I walked the streets of the United States capital. Like Cambridge, much remains unchanged, but there are some telling alterations. I thought it was a sign of the times that on K street, … Continued
In recent years there has been a fierce debate about the effectiveness of foreign aid, with opponents such as William Easterly arguing that most is wasted and that it often props up regimes that harm their population’s long term future. … Continued