August, 2017

• 7 August

  Vietnam pays price for econmic success

  Asia’s newest tiger economy is about to find out the cost of being a member of the club. Vietnam has more than doubled its gross domestic product over the past eight years, becoming a high performer in the world’s fastest-growing region. One consequence is it’s now well-enough off to be disqualified from getting development funding from international institutions on a ...

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• 7 August

  Tillerson is right not to preach US values much

  

  Recent leaks from the US State Department suggest that Secretary Rex Tillerson is not interested in one of its traditional missions: promoting democracy across the world. But could it actually be a wise move to pause those efforts—especially at this undeniably awkward moment for the US? Josh Rogin at The Washington Post reports that State is looking to amend its ...

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• 7 August

  Older Americans aren’t as poor as we thought

  

  Millions of American workers are frozen out of their companies’ pension plans. Maybe you get a 401(k), if you’re lucky. But the traditional pension is dead. Unless, perhaps, you’re already retired. It still lives for millions of older Americans who worked and qualified for their pensions in another era. Today’s retirees are living pretty well, new research finds—much better than ...

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• 7 August

  Globalization thrives in Asia thanks to export revival

  

  For all the talk of globalization’s retreat amid the mercantilist rhetoric of Donald Trump, it’s proving to be a very different story in Asia. Exports are resurgent, governments are pursuing free-trade deals, and rather than bringing jobs back home, American automakers are planning new facilities in China. That early-2017 angst over potential for a trade war is now turning into ...

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• 7 August

  Dollar extends gain, crude drops

  

  Bloomberg The dollar extended its gains in the wake of better-than-expected US jobs data, while the euro also rose following its slump on Friday. Crude dropped as major producers gathered to discuss participation in output cuts. The greenback initially struggled to maintain its positive momentum against G-10 peers, before gradually strengthening as US stock futures also edged higher. European equities ...

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• 7 August

  Saudi, Egyptian banks bask in global glow

  DUBAI / Reuters The banking sector helped support stock indexes in Saudi Arabia and Egypt on Monday as investors were influenced by the positive mood in global bourses, while other markets in the region moved little. “With quarterly earnings now largely behind us, investors are looking for fresh triggers, and the optimism buzzing around global markets is just that,” said ...

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• 7 August

  UK begins worries about post-Brexit London

  

  Bloomberg Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc Chairman Howard Davies said banks’ dire warnings about Brexit are finally getting through to the British government. “In recent weeks we have seen a much greater realisation of the much greater disruptive impact of a disorderly Brexit,” Davies said Friday. “The fact that the Bank of England has asked people to share their ...

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• 7 August

  Commonwealth Bank: Coding error behind money-laundering suit

  

  Bloomberg Commonwealth Bank of Australia has blamed a software coding error for more than 50,000 alleged breaches of money-laundering and terrorist-financing laws. The error went undetected for almost three years, the Sydney-based bank said in its first detailed response after being sued August 3 by the country’s financial crime agency. Austrac alleged the bank failed to report on time or ...

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• 7 August

  Bank Indonesia says another rate cut could be on table

  

  Bloomberg Indonesia’s central bank has signaled a return to the easing bias that dominated its rates agenda last year. Bank Indonesia was Asia’s biggest rate cutter in 2016, easing policy six times until it hit the pause button late in the year. Now, with price pressures fading again, the bank’s governor Agus Martowardojo has said policymakers aren’t closing the door ...

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• 7 August

  Split within Indian central bank flags flawed inflation model

  

  Bloomberg It took six meetings for cracks to become visible within India’s powerful interest rate-setting panel. Following a series of consensus voting and bland statements, there was open dissent on the monetary policy committee in June, which only worsened last week when a member of the Reserve Bank of India’s economic research wing broke ranks for the first time with ...

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