Inya Ivkovic, MA
While perusing weekend financial press, I could barely smother a chuckle. Again the economists and various experts are puzzled over how something relatively small, and thus presumed insignificant, can threaten to bring down an entire institution. The first time this question arose three years ago, it was the…
Ireland’s taking the bailout from the European Financial Stability Facility, put together by the European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) when Greece was in trouble this summer, brought little comfort to the global markets. If nothing else, it has actually elevated fears of government debt default.…
Volatility abounds and it is coming from every which direction. The Eurozone’s fiscal problems unfortunately persist. Inflation has become a real threat in China and other emerging markets. The U.S. Federal Reserve’s second round of quantitative easing is controversial and, as such, has only dialed the knob on…
The past few months have given investors a crash course in what makes commodities tick. Your PROFIT CONFIDENTIAL editors have discussed quite a collection of factors that drive commodity prices, such as currencies, emerging markets, economic output, supply and demand imbalances…even weather was mentioned as swinging a few…
Germany’s dominating financial power in the European Union (EU) is indisputable. The region’s most thriving economy has earned its right to seek higher moral and financial ground than the majority of its fellow Eurozone members. These days, Germany is the Eurozone’s lord and master, it carries a huge…
Ireland and Greece’s sovereign debt problems have sent credit markets into turmoil again. Hardly surprising, considering that both countries are dealing with mountains of prime fiscal problems and have been reduced to Europe’s pariahs in more ways than just monetary. This is bound to have an adverse impact…
While initial public offering (IPO) activity in the U.S. has hit historical lows, the IPOs in Asia have soared to record high levels. Asian equity markets are flooded with new offerings, partly prompted by emerging markets’ soaring economies and partly by record-low bond yields. Since the beginning of…
The next G-20 meeting should be interesting. The Fed is intent on buying more of its assets and unleashing more paper money into the already oversupplied financial systems. This has governments and central bankers of emerging markets very worried, particularly those whose red-hot economies are potentially about to…
As of late, what is killing the U.S. dollar is the second round of quantitative easing, dubbed “QE2.” Ben Bernanke is no stranger to criticism, from economists to lawmakers alike, but the latest bout of criticism is not U.S.-centric only. Even international policymakers have started berating Bernanke for…