Financial Times (February 6, 2014)
“In an era when much of the world is worried about the possibility of drifting into Japanese-style deflation, one country has precisely the opposite problem: unbridled inflation.” Over the last 5 years, India’s consumer prices have been rising annually by close to 10%. “That is no small matter for the multitudinous poor, for whom escalating food prices can summon the spectre of hunger. Nor does it do much for macroeconomic stability, which India badly needs in this year of tapering and tricky political transition.” Fortunately, new central bank governor Raghuram Rajan looks “up to the task.” With his tough policies, he may prove the Paul Volcker of India.
Tags: Central bank, CPI, Deflation, Food, Governor, Hunger, India, Inflation, Japan, Macroeconomics, Paul Volker, Poor, Raghuram Rajan, Stability
Euromoney (February Issue)
Those who quickly dismiss Bitcoin and other digital currencies may be overlooking their potential. “In theory, Bitcoin could serve two understated purposes: facilitating mobile transactions in emerging markets and, in the process, being a weapon in the so-called global currency war…. In fact, in some countries, as many as a fifth of respondents claimed that virtual-currency investments were a safer long-term bet than stocks and property.”
Tags: Bitcoin, Currency war, Emerging markets, Investments, Long term, Mobile transactions, Potential, Property, Respondents, Safety, Stocks, Virtual-currencies
New York Times (February 5, 2014)
Recent estimates credit the Affordable Care Act with unchaining 2.5 million people from their jobs over the ensuing decade. “The new law will free people, young and old, to pursue careers or retirement without having to worry about health coverage. Workers can seek positions they are most qualified for and will no longer need to feel locked into a job they don’t like because they need insurance for themselves or their families.”
Tags: Affordable Care Act, Careers, Coverage, Families, Health, Insurance, Jobs, Positions, Qualified, Retirement, Workers
The Atlantic (February 4, 2014)
“Lehman conditioned us to always look for the next domino. But sometimes a falling currency is just a falling currency.” Since last May when then Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke mentioned tapering, “emerging market currencies have been in a world of pain.” But fundamentals are much stronger than before the Asian Currency Crisis so this needn’t be a repeat of 1997. “The danger isn’t slumping currencies. The danger is overreacting to slumping currencies.”
Tags: 1997, Asian Currency Crisis, Ben Bernanke, Currency, Emerging markets, Fed, Fundamentals, Lehman, Overreacting, Tapering
Wall Street Journal (February 4, 2014)
The Nikkei’s fall puts added pressure on Shinzo Abe’s efforts to revive Japan. The correction may prove temporary, but it is surely a sign of underlying weakness in Abenomics, which should be fortified. “Policy makers shouldn’t govern by the wishes of stock markets, but in this case Mr. Abe could take a hint. If 2013 was the year when he hyped Japan’s economic prospects, 2014 will need to be the year when he starts doing something about it.”
Tags: 2014, Abe, Abenomics, Correction, Economic prospects, Hype, Japan, Nikkei, Policy makers, Stock markets, Temporary, Weakness
Washington Post (February 3, 2014)
Rather than marking Vladimir Putin’s crowning achievement, “the Sochi Olympics are more likely to become a forum for the demonstration of how and why Putin’s rule of Russia has failed—and how his power is ebbing both abroad and at home.”
Tags: Demonstration, Failure, Power, Russia, Sochi Olympics, Vladimir Putin
Global Investor (February Issue)
“Initial public offerings (IPOs) in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region are gathering momentum, with a burgeoning pipeline of deals and renewed optimism of further supply stretching into the future.” Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul Exchange is predicted to be the region’s most active, followed by the Dubai Financial Market, Qatar Exchange and the Abu Dhabi Exchange. “However, some of these companies could look to the London Stock Exchange due to its wider access to international investors. The dearth of liquidity in regional compared with global exchanges remains a challenge for local IPOs.”
Tags: Abu Dhabi Exchange, Dubai Financial Market, Exchanges, Global, Investors, IPOs, Liquidity, LSE, Middle East, Momentum, North Africa, Pipeline, Qatar Exchange, Regional, Saudi Arabia, Supply, Tadawul Exchange
The Economist (February 1, 2014)
“There is no reason for a broad emerging-market crisis. But nervous investors could yet cause one.”
Tags: Crisis, Emerging markets, Investors, Nervous
