Expanding the Legacy
Tag: Debt
7 Posts
Debt Restructuring: Governance Missing from Equation
An untold number of debt relief initiatives have failed to help developing countries carry their financial burden. The schemes, well-meaning in nature, follow a predetermined script: the debtor nation promises reforms, the implementation of sound governance practices, and fiscal prudence. However, once creditors and debtors have reached an amicable agreement, the script goes awry. Promises are instantly forgotten and reform plans put on ice. Apart from perhaps a few cosmetic touch ups, governance remains as dismal as before.
On Freeters and Other Exotic Creatures
China, Europe, and even the United States are all said to be at risk of ‘Japanification’: a protracted malaise of low growth, low inflation, low interest rates, and skewed demographics necessitating quantitative easing on a massive scale. A lost decade, sparked in 1991 by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) trying...
The Mingling of Politics and Business
What goes up doesn’t necessarily have to come down. A case in point: China. The last time the country’s GDP contracted was in 1976 (-1.57%) – the year both Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai passed away, the Cultural Revolution collapsed with the denunciation and purge of the Gang of Four,...
$160 Billion in Emergency Aid
World Bank President David Malpass has joined IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in urging bilateral creditors to extend debt relief to poor countries struggling to cope with the corona virus. “Many countries will need debt relief. This is the only way they can concentrate any new resources on fighting the...
Oops, I Did It Again
Argentina has defaulted on its public debt – again. The country is familiar with the script that follows and unlikely to be intimidated by upset creditors. In fact, Argentina is seen blazing a trail for others grappling with debt loads that have become unsustainable after the corona pandemic unhinged economies,...
Corporate Debt Levels Cause for Concern
Economic growth never dies of old age. Its demise requires a clear trigger: an event or mechanism that causes the onset of a slowdown or contraction. Concerned economists have now identified twin triggers in the disconcerting spread of the corona virus and the sudden collapse of oil prices. The OECD...
Greek Vote a Buying Opportunity?
After the Hellenic parliament on December 29 failed to elect a president in a third round of voting, triggering a constitutionally mandated snap election, yield on the benchmark ten-year bond jumped to over 9.7% (from its summer low of 3.5%) whilst shares on the Athens Stock Exchange plunged on average 11%.
