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SINGAPORE (Jan 21): In the past week, the mood among investors has brightened as the US and China edged away from a suicidal trade war, Chinese policymakers adopted ever more aggressive stimulus and the US Federal Reserve signalled that it would only tigh

SINGAPORE (Dec 31): Keppel Corp ruined my Christmas break last year. On Dec 23, 2017, the company owned up to its involvement in a bribery scandal in Brazil, and unveiled a “global resolution” that would see it pay fines of more than US$422.2 million

SINGAPORE (Dec 24): After a year of wild gyrations in markets, shocking political developments and unexpected economic challenges, some analysts are even wondering whether there is any point in making forecasts for next year. Indeed, the margin of error i

SINGAPORE (Dec 24): When Goldman Sachs was selling bonds issued by 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) in 2012, a fund manager friend of mine remembers its salespeople emphasising that the securities were a Malaysian “sovereign credit risk”. Yet, the cou

SINGAPORE (Dec 10): As we start thinking about economic prospects for the coming year, it is useful to identify the principal forces that will shape the outlook. It is clear to us that the Chinese economy will be one of the most important of such forces.

SINGAPORE (Dec 10): One afternoon back in the 1990s, when I worked for a Malaysian brokerage firm, I could not help overhearing one of my senior colleagues talking on the telephone to a fund manager about a company called Renong.

SINGAPORE (Nov 26): Over the last decade, China has taken an increasingly muscular approach to relations with East Asian countries. But, in recent months, it has surprised its neighbours with a charm offensive. What changed? In terms of China’s behaviou

SINGAPORE (Nov 26): The mood among investors and businesses worldwide seems to be increasingly fragile, marked by growing despondency as a dark cloud of uncertainty hangs over many important issues. To clarify where the world is heading and what it means

SINGAPORE (Nov 26): On a Saturday afternoon in 2015, I returned a telephone call to an individual at a public relations firm who had tried to reach me earlier in the day. He was acting for Noble Group, and intimated that he had called me as part of an eff

SINGAPORE (Nov 19): The drama of US President Donald Trump’s presidency has centred around whether an extremist president would be able to carry out an extremist policy agenda against the will of the majority of Americans. So far the answer has been no,