US President Barack Obama, en route to ‘Asia’ (I use the speech marks, because Asia is so diverse and it is inaccurate to consider it a single entity), has no shortage of issues to deal with when he gets there. There seems to be a general feeling that US influence in Asia is on the [Read more...]

If emerging markets (EMs) are to dominate the 21st century, as many reasonably expect, then they will need to capture the world’s imagination, not just that of businesses and investors. To this end, ‘soft power’ will become increasingly important. ‘Soft power’ is an essential element of global branding, and in this case, I am talking [Read more...]

The North Korean nuclear crisis has been going on for so long now, and has become so repetitive, that like various US high-suspense TV dramas such as ‘24’ and ‘Lost’, it is losing its ability to shock. The cast of characters changes slightly, but the themes and events are fairly constant. (The only real shock [Read more...]

With Q1 2009 GDP data emerging, many people are asking, ‘is this the bottom of the current recession?’

My point of view is that if Q1 2009 is not the bottom, then H1 2009 (i.e. the first half of 2009) probably is.

In this regard, there have been some encouraging signs in Asia. The pace [Read more...]

There’s a well-known Roman maxim, ‘If You Want Peace, Prepare For War’.

Judging by some potentially dangerous maneuverings taking place on the Korean peninsula, I can only hope that North Korea’s leaders are taking this proverb to heart.

There are several developments which are raising regional tensions right now:

• North Korea has confirmed that it plans to [Read more...]

The long-heralded ‘Asian growth story’ is rapidly becoming an ‘Asian collapse story’ in 2009. Perhaps ‘collapse’ is too strong a word, but Business Monitor International (BMI) has recently revised or is currently in the process of revising down its GDP growth forecasts for several Asian economies, including South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, and Hong Kong. [Read more...]

Question: Which country would you feel safer investing in, South Korea or Pakistan? Most people would probably say Korea, but judging by the performance of their currencies this year, the answer is not so clear cut. Every night lately, just before drifting off to sleep, I’ve found myself wondering where the Korean won would be [Read more...]