Re-assessing the US Budget Deficit
The first US presidential debate for the November 2024 polls shed little light on the elephant in the room: the federal budget deficit. If further tax cuts are to be on the economic agenda, the US shall run annual fiscal deficits over the next decade. As a result, gross federal debt – which was at... Read More →
US faces historic shake-up in 2024 presidential polls
What’s shaping up like a déjà vu moment quickly shifted into a history-making election season in the US. It will be a thrilling next few weeks as the US heads into another presidential election. What would have been a repeat standoff between incumbent President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump has taken wild turns,... Read More →
Brazil’s quest for a balanced budget
Even with a steady increase in revenues, Brazil’s federal government accounts closed the first half of 2024 with a deficit of BRL 70.6 billion (USD 12.7 billion), a 66 per cent increase compared to last year’s first semester, as shown in Graph 1. The numbers prove that the government is challenged in achieving its self-imposed... Read More →
Propping up Malaysia’s economy amid weaker ringgit, unyielding interest rates
Malaysia experienced slowdowns in global trade, elevated tensions due to geopolitics, and tighter monetary policies that led to a slower-than-expected 3.7 per cent expansion in 2023, missing the expected pace of 3.8 per cent. Still, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts a positive outlook for a potential increase of up to 4.3 per cent in... Read More →
Thriving Brazilian agriculture builds new pathways through capital markets
According to the Production, Supply and Demand reports by the US Department of Agriculture, Brazil is responsible for more than a quarter of the world’s production of key agricultural goods like fresh oranges, soybean oilseed, and coffee, along with a significant share of products such as sugar, meat, cotton, and corn. With the evolution of... Read More →
It feels like November 1985
There is no doubt that the global economy is not exactly bursting with momentum, which may stress equity investors, especially in a financial world returning to the normalcy where liquidity has a price. Right now, the stress is even more pronounced in the bond markets, where the frustration is the inflation that still is not... Read More →
Foreign investments to fulfill ASEAN’s need for ‘greener’ pastures
The tables have turned on Asia as far as climate change is concerned. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Asia and the Pacific is now the source of 50 per cent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2019. ADB defines “carbon intensive” investments as those that went into manufacturing, mining, quarrying, power and gas,... Read More →
Finding the right timing for the Philippines’ first SWF
The Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), signed into law on July 18, 2023, is the Philippine government’s first sovereign wealth fund (SWF) and the country’s attempt to pool investable funds of select government agencies and state-owned corporations. While the global economy is still battling high inflation and high interest rates, the goal of the MIF is... Read More →
Dancing through the ‘cha-cha’ noise in the Philippines
Charter change means going through Congress and holding a national plebiscite to relax a blanket statement in the national charter that currently constricts foreign capital in certain industries like mining, media, and agriculture. Talks to amend the 1987 Constitution have been revived without the blessing of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. The Philippines follows a bicameral... Read More →
Lula’s call on rate cuts slow Brazil’s GDP
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been attacking the independence and autonomy of the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) amid the persistently high inflation. Lula said the current level of Brazil’s key policy rate at 13.75 percent was too high and the inflation target of 3.25 percent too low, hinting at a mismatch... Read More →