28 March 2024 In the past week, two important things happened in Japan. First of all, the Nikkei stock market index hit an all-time high; finally, eclipsing the previous record established 35 years ago. Following decades of underperformance, Japanese equities have left US stocks in the dust during the past two years. Meanwhile, the Bank [...]
2 May 2019 The sharp decline in equity markets during Q4 2018, reflected the likelihood that global economic activity would decelerate in 2019. Some commentators went even further, coining a new phrase, and posing the question of whether a "Japanification" of the global economy was taking place. That is, even a decade after the Global [...]
2 November 2017 Despite the flare up of dangerous geopolitical risks, Asian assets have performed exceptionally well in 2017. Indeed, after years of underperformance, the 28% gain in Asian equity markets is twice that of the S&P500. Likewise, shrugging off initial concerns after last year’s US election, most of the region’s currencies have appreciated handsomely [...]
22 October 2017 Investors appear convinced that stimulative G-7 monetary policies lie behind the markets’ record-setting performance. To be sure, that was the case between 2009 and 2015. During the past three years, however, I believe the impact of monetary policy has been quite neutral, the key driver of markets more recently has shifted from [...]