‘Change’ is a powerful message. Barack Obama made this his main slogan in his 2008 campaign. Rocky Balboa proclaimed this to the Soviet Politburo at the end of Rocky IV. UK girl band Sugababes called their fifth album Change. Now, even Japan has opted for change, after 54 years of rule by the Liberal Democratic… [Read more]

The idea that ‘demography is destiny’ is used a lot by economists to justify upbeat economic growth forecasts for a number of emerging nations, and pessimistic outlooks for several developed states. My colleagues and I at Business Monitor International (BMI) certainly keep demographic projections in mind when looking at long-term forecasts. Usefully, the UN World… [Read more]

Most governments around the world seek to maximise economic growth so that their countries can achieve a higher level of development and their citizens can become wealthier. At the same time, they must be mindful that growth does not bring with it inflation. However there is a major exception to these axioms: Japan. While Japan… [Read more]

US decline theorists are having a field day (year?), thanks to America’s worsening economic crisis. Among those predicting that the US will lose its superpower status are Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, and German finance minister Peer Steinbrück. Last week, even the US National Intelligence Council seemed to hint at the loss… [Read more]

As I write this, investors are increasingly hopeful that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will deliver a 25 basis point interest rate cut on Friday, taking policy rates back down to 0.25%. Mere speculation on this front is buoying global financial markets. However, if the BoJ does deliver tomorrow, this begs the question, will Japan… [Read more]