Big Asian economies take on the forces of international capital—and win
Battling currency markets used to be considered unwise by central bankers and policymakers. Burning foreign-exchange reserves to take on the forces that push and pull a currency’s value was foolish, so the thinking went, and almost certainly futile. Orthodoxy held that a country seeking to defend its currency should raise interest rates, not sell reserves. […]
What would the perfect climate-change lender look like?
Imagine, for a second, that you are a guest at the Mount Washington Hotel in the ski resort of Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. You have arrived to enjoy neither the slopes nor the hotel’s 18-hole golf course. Instead, you are here for the sort of conference that reimagined the international financial system at the end […]
Despite the bullish talk, Wall Street has China reservations
Any fool, with a bit of luck, can make a spectacular return by betting on a coin flip. Yet they risk losing everything in the process. The ultimate outcome for investors is a high return adjusted for the risk associated with it, an idea most famously captured by the “Sharpe ratio”. This divides the expected […]
UK economy in ‘a lot better shape’ than bleak figures suggest, fund manager says
People walk outside the Bank of England in the City of London financial district, in London, Britain, January 26, 2023. Henry Nicholls | Reuters LONDON — The U.K. has thus far avoided a widely anticipated recession, and the signs from the business world are that the economy may be holding up better than feared, according […]
Is the Biden Administration Just Completely Brain-Dead?
Russia has deployed tactical nuclear weapons on all its ships. The US arrogantly told China not to support Russia or that they would impose sanctions on China as they have done with Russia. That is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Once you make such a public demand on China, they […]
Some thoughts on progress, freedom, and happiness
I recently took a car ferry across to the island of Chiloé. In the distance, I could see work being done on a big new suspension bridge, which when completed will connect the large island province to the mainland. My first reaction was disappointment; I came too soon to experience the convenience of the new […]
Xi Jinping’s next overseas-lending revolution
China has plastered slogans on its loans for as long as it has lent overseas. The “Going Out” strategy in 1999 gave way to the “Community of Common Destiny” in 2011, which was swiftly overshadowed by Xi Jinping’s “Belt and Road” vision two years later. Throughout this period, even as the slogans changed, one type […]
