Posts From Mikala Sorenson
Japan de-escalates the Senkaku-Diaoyu dispute
Japan seeks to improve the tense situation in the run-up to the APEC meeting in December. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cannot afford risking trade relations with China. Japanese Prime Minister
Islamic finance expands with British sukuk
The British government recently issued its first sukuk, a financial certificate compliant with Islamic law. As Islamic finance becomes more mainstream, other European governments could follow suit. This summer, the British
What low rates and high prices mean for investors
With few underpriced assets and interest rates at historical lows, do investors face a bubble or a stable– and unprecedented– leveling in markets? Spain, the jittering economy that recently prompted fears about
Transportation on the verge of dramatic changes
The trend toward computerization promises to create enhanced efficiency in transportation sectors such as the trucking industry and aviation. However, this shift also threatens to take away jobs. In most supermarkets
China’s mortgages pose risk to financial system
Zero-down payment mortgages in China suggest an increasingly risky Chinese financial system, with symptoms similar to those seen leading up to the U.S. credit crisis. Home buyers all over China, from Guangzhou and
US Decline Series: Are the dollar’s days as reserve currency numbered?
Despite speculation that the days of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency will soon be over, a number of factors make such a changing of the guard unlikely. This
Debunking US unemployment numbers
Do not mistake a rosy Bureau of Labor Statistics report for something that it is not. The unemployment rate did decrease in April, but only because 800,000 people exited the labour
Book Review: Currency Wars
In his 2011 book Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global Crisis, James Rickards explains that we are in the third reincarnation of currency wars. He highlights the fact that
How will the Volcker Rule affect markets?
On April 1st, the Volcker Rule comes into effect. What does that mean for banks, businesses and markets? The Volcker Rule is designed to address conflicts of interest in proprietary
Escalating tensions over Senkaku/Diaoyu islands underestimated
The political risks of the Senkaku/Diaoyu island dispute are heavily mispriced in global markets. Conflict is still on the table. For more than a year now Japan and China have
