Even as the world looks on with eyes agog at the success of Asian countries even in the light of this recession that has plagued us all, the powers that be at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have warned Asia about inflationary pressures that are building up in the Asia-Pacific region. While high growth has been the norm rather than the exception in Asia, with many celebrating the successes of the Eastern world, the IMF has sounded a note of caution to these nations that are the vanguard of the global economic recovery. A report that was recently released by the IMF stated that the inflationary pressures that could hit the region might necessitate policy tightening measures to curb any potential problems that may arise. The IMF has taken cognizance of the fact that growth in the Asia-Pacific  [...] 

After the legendary Lehman Brothers went belly up, the American banking and the financial industry at large underwent cosmetic changes unlike any other in recent history. This restructuring caused, among other things, the vaporization of several financial institutions that were prominent previously, not to mention several more that merged or still others that were whipped into shape and streamlined. Studies conducted by the administration revealed several weaker banks that needed propping up and funds were duly pumped into these institutions. Moreover, there were several banks whose survival was crucially linked to that of the American economy and despite being nonviable they were kept afloat by the U.S. So yes, there was a lot of madness and a lot of murkiness surrounding what was happening  [...] 

The recession has hit our economy really hard, and there should be no bones made about that. As stimulus packages were announced and subsequently deployed, unemployment ending up touching all time highs and the deficit showed no signs of contracting in the slightest. In the midst of all of this, the government has sought to boost the value of export earnings as earned by US corporations at this moment in time, and to do so the Fed is being forced into devaluing the US Dollar. By doing so, overseas earnings become more lucrative but this sort of protectionism is perhaps not the best policy to follow since it is at the end of the day a trade barrier plain and simple and as many trade barriers before it, it will fall short of expectations. When attempting to ascertain the value of currencies,  [...] 

Apple Inc. has ascended into a rarefied realm where few other companies go. Disregard the fact that they have some of the most rabid and loyal fan followings on the planet. Disregard the fact that they make some of the most lust-worthy gadgets on the planet. And disregard the fact that several other tech companies have deemed to follow their lead in an“if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” effort. Just take into consideration this one fact to understand just how much clout Apple holds; recently, their shares soared past the $300 per share price for the first time in the Cupertino giant’s history. That means it is now officially in the big leagues and in the pantheon of high-priced stocks everyone wishes they had in their portfolio. Think of the luminaries that keep them  [...] 

Unemployment has been a major concern for America and the Bureau of Labour Statistics recently released the latest set of numbers on the 8th of October. These numbers are significant as they come just prior to the November Congressional elections. For Democrats looking for succor from these numbers, they have something else coming. The numbers aren’t good, and there’s no positive to be really taken away from it. Four months in a row now, nonfarm payroll employment declined in the month of September, by a figure that totaled to 95,000 jobs. In all, the unemployment rate was holding firm at the worryingly high figure of 9.6%. This drop could be put down to the continued drop in the census workforce, temporary though it may be. This is not even a small part of the numbers tale as census employment  [...] 

It was almost a year ago when JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon talked to the White House about the bonds that tie business and government, or rather the ties that do not. Stretching back to Teddy Roosevelt, Barack Obama has by far the least number of cabinet secretaries and top aides with credible business experience. It is little wonder then that the President has such a fractious relationship with industry. The exits of Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and National Economic Council Chairman Lawrence H. Summers didn’t help matters much either. There is a yawning chasm developing between the White House and business and it becomes more apparent with each passing day. But the White House is trying to fix burnt bridges and chances are that we will see a lot more proximity  [...] 

The moneymen are sitting at the table scratching their heads, and they have good reason to do so. They have yet another hefty document to sift through thanks to the kindness of that well of human kindness, the Securities and Exchange Commission. In conjunction with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a report has been made out about the “flash crash” that happened on May 6th. On that fateful day, American shares and futures markets went into freefall in a manner that would have made a Kamikaze pilot proud. It was swift, it was precise and it was deadly. The indices fell some 10% in the matter of a few minutes and suddenly some blue-chip shares were left gob-smacked as they traded (albeit briefly) at the value of a penny. That they recovered ground before the day was out is another  [...] 

There was this chain-smoking comedian (I think it was Bill Hicks, but I’m never too sure about these things) that once claimed more non-smokers died every day when compared to smokers. In a nutshell, his assertion was that “It’s you people dying from nothing that are screwed.” That is some very twisted logic over there, enough to get more than just a few chuckles from an amassed audience. But it is the kind of fuzzy logic that seems to apply to the troubled European zone. The worries and ill economic health of a few nations has left a question mark hanging over the European zone. Take the case of Ireland. If you do hold any ten year government bonds issued by the Irish, you might have noticed that the yield on these bonds neared 7% on the 29th of September. That’s a record figure  [...] 

The effects of this recession are widespread and long lasting, make no mistake about it. The global economy is like a boxer on the ropes, reeling and stunned after being landed one well aimed fist after another. There is only so much of a beating that anyone can take and the effect of all of this is that worldwide economic growth will be lackluster for possibly the next few years, maybe even the next several years on account of feeble consumption growth. Currency intervention is a tool that is being used widely by more and more economies in order to get a greater share of the global trade pie, very little of which is to be had. In these dire economic times, exports and global demand is where the money is made by countries and currency intervention is one of the tools by which this can be more  [...]