Opinion

Regional economic prospects are dimming in Southeast Asia, with unemployment expected to rise and increasing concerns over job security preoccupying many – with Malaysians in particular being the hardest hit – a survey by the Financial Times has found. The survey of jobseekers by the FT Confidential Research found that unemployment was expected to rise in ASEAN after significant job …

Any doubts that Donald Trump has had a huge (as he might say) influence on the Republican Party were dispelled this month when Senator Rob Portman came out against the Trans-Pacific Partnership. There is no more respected member of what’s called the Republican establishment: The Ohio lawmaker is a confidant of the Bush family, a runner-up vice-presidential pick in 2012 …

Critics have already begun writing their obituaries for Abenomics, after the latest disappointing data showed Japan’s economy is yet to get off its hospital bed despite massive monetary stimulus. But for a government searching for more answers, the solution might lie closer to home than in the realm of exotic policy instruments. On Thursday, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and …

Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah is going to announce the government’s fiscal budget for 2016-17 on Wednesday. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Hong Kong (ACCA) estimates that the government will record a surplus of approximately HK$70 billion (US$9 billion). Given there has been a significant surplus consistently over the past few years, leading to the accumulation of fiscal reserves …

One could argue — and some, like UKIP leader Nigel Farage, already do — that the concessions British Prime Minister David Cameron obtained late on Friday from other European Union leaders in order to stay in the bloc are meaningless. Or one could rejoice in a victory as Cameron does. That won’t change a fundamental fact: The UK is not …

At her most recent press conference in December, Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen had this (abbreviated) exchange with ABC News reporter Rebecca Jarvis. Jarvis: Historically, most economic expansions fade after this long. How confident are you that our economy won’t slip back into recession in the near term? Yellen: … I think it’s a myth that expansions die of …

The UK has never been so divided as it is now over a controversial deal struck by British Prime Minister David Cameron with the European Union regarding the UK’s future relationship with the EU. Cameron thinks the agreement has given the UK a “special status”. The UK is almost evenly split over Brexit. The latest opinion poll, by TNS, found …

The last surge in growth in China, taking place in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis, was fueled by risky lending and high levels of investment. The fallout from that lending was high debt, often nonperforming loans, and slowing growth. At present, China’s public and private debt-to-GDP ratio weighs in at 232 percent, higher than in most countries at …

The CFA Institute in its annual sentiment report surveys individual and institutional investors to determine what they are anxious about. You might be surprised to learn that about one-in-three is greatly concerned about another 2008-09 type financial crisis: Investors revealed a growing anxiety about the state of global finance. Almost one-third of investors feel that another financial crisis is likely …

Abu Dhabi / EMIRATES BUSINESS Fool-proof communication channel could be a key to any organisation’s success. In a bid to achieve this while offering local corporates customised solutions, UAE-based cyber security firm DarkMatter has introduced innovative voice and chat application for iOS and Android. The application provides end-to-end secure communications, based on the latest advancements in cryptography, cryptographic implementations, and …