ASIA: The Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee (MPC) stuck to its accommodative policy stance to help the economy recover from the pits of the pandemic, keeping the key lending rate at record lows on Thursday. As expected, the MPC held the lending rate, or the repo rate, at 4%. The RBI however, surprised […]

ASIA: Business investment commitments into Singapore dropped about 31% last year, marking the first decline in five years, and after hitting a more than decade high in 2020, government data showed on Wednesday. Commitments for investments in fixed assets such as facilities, machinery, and other equipment shrank to S$11.8 billion ($8.78 billion) in 2021 but […]

ASIA: The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday cut its FY22 gross domestic growth product (GDP) forecast for India to 9 percent from 9.5 percent predicted in October, citing disruptions due to the Omicron wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the multilateral agency raised the country’s GDP projection for FY23 to 9 percent from 8.5 percent […]

China has asked the Fed to please not raise rates. This has confused many to wonder when China would be asking the Fed not to raise rates. The real reason is the crisis we have in emerging markets and the Sovereign Debt Crisis. Emerging Markets are one of the main victims of tightening US monetary […]

ASIA: Goldman Sachs cut its 2022 forecast for China economic growth Tuesday in expectation of increased restrictions on business activity aimed at containing the omicron Covid variant. Consumption will likely be affected the most, while exports less so, the analysts said, as they assume limited disruptions to supply chains. They expect government policy easing to offset […]

The CDC and NIH refuse to recognize the important role that herd immunity could play in combating COVID. Yet, one thing that they failed to consider was herd immunity to fear. A recent poll conducted by Axios and Ipsos shows that 88% of Americans personally know someone who has contracted COVID. The poll conducted at […]

ASIA: China’s real estate sector is having a rocky start in 2022, as some of the country’s most high-profile developers struggle to shake off a crisis that has been growing for months. This week, two major credit rating agencies downgraded Shanghai-based developer Shimao Group further into junk territory. The company has been grappling with mounting […]

ASIA: China’s official economic growth target is expected to be set above 5 percent in 2022, analysts told in an interview. China enters the local “two sessions” season, when local GDP growth targets are usually announced. Beijing and Central China’s Henan Province became the latest to start their annual meetings since Wednesday. Southwest China’s Xizang […]

ASIA: India and China have mostly set aside their bilateral differences in order to champion the cause of developing countries at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). That seems to be changing. During the latest round of China’s trade policy review, India questioned its northern neighbor’s claim that it was a developing country since, going by […]

ASIA:   The major Asian stock markets had a green day today: NIKKEI 225 increased 392.70 points or 1.37% to 29,069.16 Shanghai increased 14.14 points or 0.39% to 3,630.11 Hang Seng increased 56.80 points or 0.24% to 23,280.56 ASX 200 closed Kospi increased 20.69 points or 0.69% to 3,020.24 SENSEX increased 477.24 points or 0.83% […]