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The Week That Was… 38
Argentina: The $50-bn-Man Axel Kicillof, 51, is justifiably proud of his reign as finance tsar in the two successive administrations (2007-2015) of Peronist president Christina Fernández de Kirchner. He managed to slash the Argentina’s debt-to-GDP ratio from 166 percent to
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A Coup Remembered: 50 Years Later, Chile Still Split Over Pinochet Legacy
On this day fifty years ago, a pleasant pre-spring Tuesday, democracy fell to armed force in Chile. Absconded in La Moneda, probably one of the least gracious buildings erected by the Spanish in colonial times, the constitutional president of the
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The American Economy is Holding Strong — and Getting Greater Still
Wim Romeijn’s recent analysis indicates that shopping addiction is a primary driver of the American economy. However, other factors contribute significantly. Each spring, the tradition of garage sales sees American households showcasing their impulse purchases. Neighbors engage in a cycle
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On Freeters and Other Exotic Creatures in a Land of Plenty
The sustainability of Japan’s society is in doubt for various reasons, writes Wim Romeijn. 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
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China Syndrome: A Wilting Economy, Financial ‘Long-Covid’, a Collapsing Property Sector — and the Spectre of Deflation Hovering Nearby
The global economy is supported by four pillars; two are wobbly, reports Wim Romeijn, and one is being rebuilt. The first in a series of four CFI.co investigations… The world’s major economies are facing up to an era beset by
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Inverted Yield Curves and Central Bankers Pull Focus to the Tetons as BRICS Founders
Another day, another financial event — the 46th US Federal Reserve Summer Symposium — for Wim Romeijn to ponder… As BRICS leaders discuss ways to challenge US hegemony and overthrow the mighty dollar as the global reserve currency, the minders
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South Africa Looks on While Brazil and India Face Off China and Russia
Johannesburg BRICS Summit (22-24 August 2023) Is the Johannesburg summit anything more than just a chatgroup meeting for importers and exporters? Wim Romeijn reports. A champion of moderation, and its own interests, India seems determined to thwart plans by Russia
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Otaviano Canuto: The Dollar’s ‘Exorbitant Privilege’ Remains
Otaviano Canuto discusses the ongoing role of the greenback in international monetary systems… There has been talk of “de-dolarisation” of the global economy, with recent initiatives and policy moves by China and other countries to extend the reach of use
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Argentina Looks to Eccentric Outlier For an Economic Fix
A far-Right libertarian candidate has burst from nowhere to claim centre stage in Argentina’s election race. Javier Milei, a 52-year-old, self-described “anarcho-capitalist”, wants to shutter Argentina’s inept central bank, replace the long-suffering peso with the US dollar, abolish all but
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Behold the New War: Same as the Old War, but it Comes with an App
On the battlefields of Ukraine, massive military kit is trumping technology, reports Wim Romeijn. On the undulating plains of eastern Ukraine, tech wizardry powers and shapes a lethal cat-and-mouse game. Here, loss of human life and the destruction of military
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