Economy

A well head and drilling rig in the Yarakta oilfield in the Irkutsk region, Russia, pictured in March 2019: nowhere is the transformation in national fortunes more dramatic than in Russia.
Opinion

Ukraine war divides global markets

Commodity producers and more self-reliant nations will do better

7 March 2022
Liu Daoxue, who lives in the village of Baiping, in central China, has escaped poverty, the government says, thanks to heavy public spending. (Photo by Yusuke Hinata)
The age of 'Great China'

China's aging population leads to predictions of '17-year supremacy'

Leaders need another $7.8tn to realize Xi's 'common prosperity'

4 March 2022
President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday.
Ukraine war

Biden rebukes Russia in State of the Union with Cold War backdrop

Few mentions of China, as president touts battle between democracy and autocracy

2 March 2022
Demonstrators hurl stones at riot police during a protest against the $500 million U.S infrastructure grant in Kathmandu on Feb. 20.
International relations

U.S. grant to Nepal swept up in superpower rivalry with China

Kathmandu in turmoil as Beijing turns 'coercion' accusation back on Washington

24 February 2022
A primary school in Wuhan, China. The average cost of raising a child to the age of 18 in China in 2019 stood at 485,000 yuan ($76,629) for a first child, 6.9 times country's per capita GDP that year.
Economy

China's child-rearing costs far outstrip U.S. and Japan: research

Only South Korea ranked higher among the 13 countries included in the study

23 February 2022
Drivers have parked their trucks blocking lanes of traffic to protest against COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in Ottawa on Feb. 12: Justin Trudeau took the extraordinary step of invoking the Emergencies Act.
Opinion

What Mahatma Gandhi can teach Canada about civil disobedience

Ottawa truck protests allow Indians a moment of schadenfreude

18 February 2022
A bank clerk counts dollar banknotes next to stack of 100 yuan notes at a bank outlet in Haian: China faces some difficult choices because it does not have true monetary independence.
Opinion

China's dangerous dollar addiction should worry Asia

Concerns behind Xi Jinping's Davos speech are becoming clearer

16 February 2022
Men hold weapons during a basic combat training for civilians in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine war

Ukraine conflict risks market fallout worse than Cuban missile crisis

Central banks fight inflation stoked by tensions, but overkill would prompt recession

15 February 2022
The north view of the Manhattan skyline in New York, where the equity and housing markets are experiencing bubble-like conditions as in much of the U.S.
Interview

U.S. housing-market bubble could burst this year: AEI's Lachman

Emerging economies need to brace for slower growth in both U.S. and China

15 February 2022
U.S. President Joe Biden has proposed an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework as an alternative to CPTPP. 
Trade

U.S. to host APEC in 2023 in push for Indo-Pacific economic pact

Washington keen to lead rule-setting for trade and tech in Asia

11 February 2022
Rahm Emanuel says President Joe Biden is trying to reaffirm some of the U.S.'s economic relations that Donald Trump had deemphasized. (Photo by Arisa Moriyama)
Interview

Rahm Emanuel emphasizes importance of U.S. being in Asia

Dropping of steel tariff 'sends unambiguous message to China,' envoy says

8 February 2022
Japanese steel exports to America fell to around 720,000 tons in 2020 from around 1.73 million tons in 2017.
Trade

U.S. rolls back Trump-era tariff on Japanese steel

Duty on aluminum to remain in place under new agreement

8 February 2022
A display at the Semicon China trade fair in Shanghai. China's exports of high-tech products like semiconductors have risen as its economy has grown.
Supply Chain

Weak supply chain link: Japan reliant on Chinese phones, laptops

Goods from China account for more than Germany or U.S.: report

6 February 2022
An advertisement of Bitcoin in Hong Kong, pictured in November 2021: cryptocurrencies exist in a largely unregulated environment.
Opinion

Cryptocurrencies remain a gamble best avoided

Better regulation needed to protect investors and deter criminal abuse

5 February 2022
A man uses Meta's Oculus VR headset and a touch controller: existing legal principles should be applied to the metaverse.
Opinion

A better way to regulate the metaverse

Virtual universe of the future should be managed just like our physical world

2 February 2022
As of Thursday evening in New York, ahead of the new Asian market open, the dollar index stood at 97.25, up 1.3% in 24 hours to its highest figure since July 2020.
Markets

U.S. dollar surge sets up new bout of global market volatility

Traders send currency to 18-month high after Fed's hawkish comments

28 January 2022
A worker checks a wafer chip at a plant in Singapore. The head of the city-state's investment board expressed optimism for the local industry's prospects on Jan. 26.
Semiconductors

Singapore investment inflows show U.S. chip hunger amid overall dip

America's portion grows as China's shrinks; annual total falls to SG$11.8bn

26 January 2022
Chinese investments have been booming throughout Central and Eastern Europe over the last decade but new data show, in particular, that mergers and acquisitions activity shifted to Europe from the U.S. last year.
Economy

Chinese deal-making shifts to Europe amid U.S. tensions

Strict COVID-19 rules and regulatory hurdles weighed on outbound investment

26 January 2022
The success of state-sponsored crypto heists will say much about the stability of Kim Jong Un's economy and nuclear ambitions.
Opinion

Will North Korea be the death of Bitcoin?

Pyongyang's $400m crypto haul is bad news for bellwether digital currency

20 January 2022
A security camera overlooking a street in Beijing, pictured in November 2021: to blame Chinese-made surveillance cameras for the suppression of people overlooks the decisive roles played by the users of the technology.
Opinion

U.S. has no moral authority over China in tech development

Regulating tech is a challenge that requires cooperation, not finger pointing

17 January 2022
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tours a bridge in need of repair in Memphis, Tennessee, on June 3, 2021. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Transportation)
Economy

Biden injects $27bn into America's ailing bridges

$1tn infrastructure law opens money spigot for badly needed upgrades

15 January 2022
Tech giants are like developing countries that lack the governing institutions to match their political power.
14 January 2022
Pasture-raised hogs on Bowling Green Farms in Bryantown, Maryland. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture)
Trade

Quad brings home the bacon: India to allow imports of U.S. pork

Agreement lifts decades-old hurdle to agricultural market

11 January 2022
A man uses his smartphone flashlight to light up his bowl of noodles at a restaurant during a blackout in Shenyang in September 2021: China is not the only one capable of making mistakes.
Opinion

World needs a long-term plan to avoid repeat energy crises

Counterproductive short-term fixes will only lead to more economic pain

7 January 2022
The Bund promenade in Shanghai: Rapid improvement in education, productivity and trade help underpin China's position as an ascendant power, Dalio says.
Interview

U.S. vs. China: Internal order will decide victor, Ray Dalio says

Hedge fund Bridgewater founder sees Beijing checking off the right boxes

1 January 2022