The world’s largest manufacturer of construction equipment, Caterpillar, has announced impressive Q2 2010 results, with net profit almost doubling compared to Q2 2009 as a result of strong sales and revenues growth. Increased demand for machinery was the underlying growth driver, with cost-cutting boosting the bottom line. The company is often considered a bellwether for… [Read more]

Financial markets seem to have a very short memory span when it comes to aligning with macroeconomic fundamentals these days. Though the release of housing sales numbers in the US today and the short-lived euphoria of China’s loosening of its exchange rate regime at the start of the week seem to have shaken up equities… [Read more]

Your correspondent has just returned from an 18-day odyssey through China, with the aim of having an adventure, but also with an eye for economic developments. China did not disappoint on either front. Anecdotal observations should always be taken with a large grain of salt when it comes to confirming economic assumptions, and this is… [Read more]

Due to popular demand following my blog piece on skyscrapers and recessions last week, I have humbly agreed to take a closer look at one of Latin America’s outstanding success stories in recent years: the Panamanian property market. Back in the liquidity-drenched days of early 2007 (remember them?!), my colleagues at Business Monitor crowned Panama… [Read more]