16 Dec 2021
International Economy
At the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) announced that it will double the rate at which it reduces monthy asset purchases (QE tapering program), meaning that the process will end by March 2022. The Fed also signaled three rate hikes next year to cope with high-flying inflation while the labor market is approaching full employment. ... Read more
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16 Jan 2020
The US-China phase 1 trade pact was officially inked on January 15, 2020, lifting hopes that their 2-year tensions could ease. However, the US and China will continue to experience higher tariffs, in particular China, as some of its exports to US are still subject to additional tariffs at the rate of 7.5 percent despite the US decision to reduce tariffs on Chinese imports worth USD120 billion while other Chinese imports worth USD250 billion are still subject to tariffs at the rate of 25 percent in 2020. ... Read more
5 Sep 2019
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6 Aug 2019
The trade war between the US and China has spread to a battle over currencies. Previously, their conflicts were limited to tariffs and international trade. Recently, the US Treasury Department accused China of “manipulating its currency”, representing a more aggressive move after China let the Yuan slide past CNY7/USD.... Read more
7 May 2019
The trade talks between the US and China last week did not produce a satisfactory outcome either side. Moreover, the US President Donald Trump announced plans to further raise tariffs on USD200 billion of Chinese goods from 10 to 25 percent starting Friday, May 10. The latest move puts greater pressure on world trade and reflects Washington’s effort to force Beijing to pursue negotiation guidelines in order for both sides to reach a mutually-satisfying agreement and stop the trade war by the end of 2019.... Read more
3 Dec 2018
On the sidelines of the G20 meetings in Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 1, 2018, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping struck a temporary truce, agreeing not to increase punitive tariffs for 90 days after the G20 meetings to pave the way for negotiations to end the trade war. President Trump agrees to postpone increasing tariffs on USD200 billion of Chinese goods from 10 to 25 percent from the original schedule of January 1, 2019 for another 60 days to March 1, 2019. China, meanwhile, pledges to buy a larger amount of agricultural produce, energy and industrial goods from the US to address trade imbalances between the two countries. Moreover, both leaders agree to begin negotiations on structural changes with respect to forced technology transfer, intellectual property protection, non-tariff barriers, cyber intrusions and cyber theft.... Read more
7 Nov 2018
At present, the fast-paced business world is fuelled largely by digital disruption. The tourism and hospitality business is one of the industries that has experienced a rapid evolution in the past decade, with Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) emerging to become a force to be reckoned with. The OTA business is driven by key global players which are poised to increase their presence and attach greater importance to the Asian region. The evidence is the value of merger and acquisition deals by the two OTA juggernauts in the Asian region; it represents 41 percent of their global M&As worth THB440 billion. ... Read more
19 Jul 2018
From the beginning of 2018 to July 19, the Yuan weakened by more than 3.5 percent against the US Dollar, representing a new record low of CNY6.73/USD. Factors contributing to a rapid softening of the Yuan over the past few months include heightened risks stemming from the US-China trade war, which have prompted China to switch to more accommodating monetary policy in an effort to ensure economic stability at home and maintain its economic growth. In so doing, China has injected liquidity into its banking system and cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for commercial banks by 1.50 percent this year. Moreover, China has injected additional liquidity into its banking system via medium-term lending facility (MLF) while new Yuan loans grew to CNY1.84 trillion in June, bettering the CNY1.22 trillion reported over the past 12 months. If China sends signals to ease its monetary policy further or its economic performance continues to slow, it is expected that the Yuan will tumble even further and this warrants close monitoring in the future. ... Read more