Wall Street’s main indexes advanced on Monday following Friday’s pullback, as investors returned to risk assets after President Donald Trump’s softer tone eased concerns over renewed U.S.-China trade tensions. Aiding sentiment, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Fox Business Network on Monday that Trump was on track to meet his Chinese counterpart in […]
By the end of August, the value of the reserves reached $8.26bln, compared with $6.26bln at the end of December 2024. The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) has seen its gold reserves rise by around 32 percent during the first eight months of 2025, surpassing AED30 billion for the first time. By […]
The US should start fiscal adjustment as soon as it can if it wants to head off the risk of exploding debt related to Trump’s tax and spending plan. On 4 July 2025, President Donald Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) . It contains tax and budgetary provisions and is projected […]
Governments everywhere are facing significant fiscal challenges due to rising debt, ageing populations trend in some parts of the world such as Asia, Europe and Northern America, climate shocks, and heightened geopolitical tensions. As citizens expect more from their governments—better healthcare, stronger safety nets, faster disaster response—available budget resources are shrinking. Ministries of finance must now focus on deploying […]
Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays a critical role in the world economy. Global FDI flows averaged almost $2 trillion per year during the past decade, up to one-half of which have been directed to emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) in recent years (figure 1.A). FDI inflows are an important source of private capital, especially for […]
In 2021, China’s electronics exports exceeded those of the other five leading exporters combined. This column analyses the rise of China as a centre for electronics manufacturing. It argues that the key drivers of growth were intense competition, education that facilitated technology transfer, and infrastructure development. However, China’s nonlinear innovation model also leaves it dependent […]
Digital currencies pegged to fiat money face a built-in tension between credibility and competition, creating a ‘stablecoin paradox’. This column analyses the competing frameworks of the US and China to address the paradox. The US (under the GENIUS Act) combines strict reserve rules for privately issued, fully backed dollar stablecoins with market incentives that encourage […]
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget’s latest forecasts show a cumulative deficit of $22.7trln from fiscal 2026 to 2035. U.S. federal budget deficits will be nearly $1 trillion higher over the next decade than projected in January by the Congressional Budget Office as a result of tax and spending legislation and tariffs, a budget […]
Low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) have rebounded strongly since the COVID-19 pandemic. Gross national income (GNI) among these countries was resilient in 2023, at $36 trillion — and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects that economic growth of developing economies will hold steady at about 4 percent over the next two years. Yet LMICs face […]
How states leverage sovereign debt to support their military endeavours has been examined thoroughly, but the relationship between private finance and armed conflict remains underexplored. Using data on loans by creditors to firms in 179 countries over 1989–2020, this column documents how foreign banks reduce overall lending relative to domestic banks during violent conflicts but […]
