Government & Agencies

China’s foreign customers leave at worst time

8 Nov 2022

Overseas demand finally collapsed in October, with exports shrinking 0.3% after a surprisingly long run. Trade strength had offset weak domestic consumption and real estate, so the contraction bolsters the case for easing harsh pandemic controls. It might be too late already.

How Joe Biden can help save the planet at COP27

7 Nov 2022

“Just transition partnerships” with states like India are essential to fight climate change and advance Western interests. America needs to join up its trade, geopolitical and climate policies, says Hugo Dixon, as the U.S. president heads to the U.N. climate conference in Egypt.

Capital Calls: Uniper

3 Nov 2022

Concise views on global finance: The German utility’s 40 bln euro loss for the first nine months of 2022 has turned its equity negative and implies a much larger bailout.

Monte Paschi cash gambit leaves bitter aftertaste

3 Nov 2022

The bailed-out lender secured 93% backing for its 2.5 bln euro cash call. Financially, that's a success. But investors will include bank foundations, a past source of political meddling. A conversion of junior bonds would have saved taxpayers high fees and interest payments.

Brazil gives flagging climate fight a timely boost

31 Oct 2022

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva beat Jair Bolsonaro in the Latin American state’s presidential election. He could curb deforestation that makes the country a big greenhouse gas emitter. It’s a bright spot in a year when public and private sector momentum on climate change has slowed.

Bank of Japan fiddles while bond market burns

31 Oct 2022

The yen is one of the world’s most popular funding currencies, but the central bank’s struggle to prop it up and hold interest rates down is tipping fixed-income traders into revolt. Policy tweaks might help, but passivity puts the yen’s global stature at risk.

Western economies rediscover meaning of scarcity

27 Oct 2022

For several decades, constraints on supplies of labour, energy and capital appeared to have all but disappeared. Now they are back, humbling leaders like former British Prime Minister Liz Truss. Allocating scarce resources means more state intervention, writes Edward Chancellor.

Italy’s new premier starts with a big faux pas

27 Oct 2022

Giorgia Meloni vowed to hike a 2,000 euro cap on cash payments, reversing attempts to boost electronic transactions. That will make it harder to track 100 bln euros of annual untaxed revenue. With debt at 147% of GDP, Italy cannot afford to be complacent on chronic tax evasion.

Australia has bulwark against China slowdown

26 Oct 2022

Demand from Down Under’s top trading partner is cooling. But Treasurer Jim Chalmers' first budget assumes the price of exports like iron ore will fall while also keeping a tight lid on spending. The fiscal discipline will be a shock absorber if China’s growth disappoints.

China’s chairman of everything wins again

26 Oct 2022

President Xi Jinping dramatically consolidated his political power at the recently concluded Communist Party Congress. In this episode of the Exchange, Dan Rosen of the Rhodium Group and Pete Sweeney delve into the role Xi-style socialism will play in China’s economic future.

UK unveils overdue sieve for ESG alphabet soup

25 Oct 2022

Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority has sketched out rules classifying environmental, social and governance funds. The approach differs from Europe’s framework, adding to fund managers’ burden. Yet it may also be tougher and more consumer friendly, making greenwashing harder.

Hong Kong’s real-estate correction has no winners

25 Oct 2022

Property prices are falling due to rising interest rates, a brain drain and a weak local economy. That sounds like good news for the world’s most unaffordable housing market. But first-time buyers and homeowners face rising mortgage costs, adding pressure for developers, too.

Rishi Sunak offers only temporary fix for UK woes

24 Oct 2022

Britain’s borrowing costs fell as the ex-chancellor won the race to become prime minister. Sunak is the least-bad option for restoring Britain’s battered finances and credibility. It’s less obvious he can unite a chaotic party or sort out a longer-term cost-of-living crisis.

Italy’s new boss is missing a trick on tax evasion

24 Oct 2022

Public debt at 147% of GDP and a slowing economy limit Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s scope to curb an energy crisis and keep spending promises. Tackling endemic tax evasion would give her more fiscal ammunition. Yet promoting the use of cash and tax amnesties will not help.

Aussie budget could do with a spot of dam-busting

24 Oct 2022

Rising inflation and expectations of lower growth put Treasurer Jim Chalmers in a tight spot as he prepares his first comprehensive fiscal policy. Cancelling up to $4.7 bln worth of the previous government’s plans for unnecessary water infrastructure would relieve some pressure.

Xi Jinping’s third term gets markets thumbs-down

24 Oct 2022

Investors ignored rosier-than-expected GDP data to wipe almost 10% off the value of internet giants like Alibaba and Tencent amid a broader selloff. It suggests the private sector was blindsided by the president’s politburo overhaul and is an early test for his new economic team.

Xi’s contract with China needs more signatures

23 Oct 2022

The president has effectively secured a third term. His prize: a country traumatised by pandemic lockdowns and crashing real estate. There are some relatively easy things Xi Jinping can do to compensate his citizens; the next five years will test whether he can grasp them.

Truss’s exit highlights America’s free pass

21 Oct 2022

U.S. fiscal policies, based on tax cuts for the rich and widening budget deficits, have been fairly similar to those of Britain’s ousted prime minister. Only the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency keeps the laws of economics from applying in the United States, too.

Britain’s next leader will be on a short leash

20 Oct 2022

Prime Minister Liz Truss is out after just 44 days in office. Whoever replaces her will have to endorse fiscal discipline or risk a similar fate. The ruling Conservatives have little in common except fear of an early election. But only a national vote can restore political order.

Britain’s bond crisis reverses over the government

20 Oct 2022

New finance minister Jeremy Hunt has scrapped most of his predecessor’s unfunded tax cuts, scuppering Prime Minister Liz Truss’s growth plan. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists debate what the U-turn means for markets – and whether Truss can survive.