Fed slows rate hikes but signals more to come

To anyone wondering how high interest rates will go and when they will start coming down, the Federal Reserve has just provided an answer: “We still don’t know.” That’s the real meaning of the quarter-point interest rate increase the Fed announced Wednesday and the signals it sent in making the announcement. Financial markets read those […]Continue Reading

Can India survive Adani’s 0 billion collapse?

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi can’t be happy about the Adani Group market meltdown stealing his thunder. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had planned to use this week’s annual budget to launch its argument to remain in power after next year’s national elections. Yet Modi’s plans to trim debt, support middle-class families and empower women […]Continue Reading

EU-China relations disintegrating on autopilot

In early December 2022, President of the European Council Charles Michel traveled to Beijing for his first face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The visit came after two events that epitomize the state of EU-China relations. The Chinese side refused to run a pre-recorded speech criticizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by Michel at the China International […]Continue Reading

Sanctions starting to bite Huawei 4G chips sourcing

Telecommunication equipment maker Huawei Technologies will have to source 4G chips elsewhere to make its smartphones as it cannot purchase more processors from the United States. The Biden administration has stopped approving licenses for US companies to ship items to Huawei over national security concerns, Reuters reported. US officials have told Qualcomm Inc and Intel […]Continue Reading

Stress tests ahead for Vietnam’s post-Covid boom

People move past a clothing boutique selling locally made products in downtown Hanoi on October 29, 2014. A EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement promises to boost Vietnamese exports and growth. AFP / Hoang Dinh Nam

In 2022, the geopolitical tensions caused by the war in Ukraine, slowing growth in the Chinese economy and sharp rises in energy and food prices led to a significantly higher inflationary outlook globally. These factors all added to the risks confronting Vietnam as its economy recovered from its lengthy Covid-19 lockdowns. Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu […]Continue Reading