Ailing South Korea needs monetary remedy
By Andy Mukherjee
(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own)
The Bank of Korea is making a big mistake by not cutting interest rates more aggressively. A weaker Japanese yen and tepid global demand are squeezing the country’s exporters from Hyundai Motor to steelmaker Posco. Though demand from China is still growing, shipments to Europe are falling, while those to the United States have stalled (See graphic).
Unsure voters could dim lure of Malaysian assets
By Andy Mukherjee
(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own)
Malaysia’s upcoming general election looks set to be a close-run affair. The big risk for investors from the May 5 poll is that neither of the two competing coalitions – the ruling Barisan Nasional or the opposition Pakatan Rakyat – may be able to claim a decisive victory.
Japanese workers need to go back to the 1980s
By Andy Mukherjee
(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own)
Japanese workers are hoping for a 1980s revival. If the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent inflation goal appears daunting, meeting it in two years – as promised by new chief Haruhiko Kuroda – is even more of a challenge. For the central bank to succeed, wages will have to grow faster than they have in the past two decades.
Breakingviews – India in depth: A Japanese-style “big reset”
By Andy Mukherjee
SINGAPORE (Reuters Breakingviews) – India needs a Japanese-style reset. For the country to decisively escape from its self-constructed trap of extreme economic pessimism, New Delhi needs to import the spirit of Abenomics.
The advice may appear counterintuitive, considering that new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s strategy of aggressive fiscal and monetary easing is the opposite of the policies India should pursue. But at its core, Abenomics is about hitting an economic reset button so that corrosive forces, which have created a lousy equilibrium of their own, are defeated, and a more virtuous economic cycle can begin.
India in depth: A Japanese-style “big reset”
(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The
opinions expressed are his own)
By Andy Mukherjee
SINGAPORE, April 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) – India needs a
Japanese-style reset. For the country to decisively escape from
its self-constructed trap of extreme economic pessimism, New
Delhi needs to import the spirit of Abenomics.
Ten ways to tell whether Abenomics is working
By Andy Mukherjee
(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own)
Shinzo Abe wants to stem the rot – and quickly. Less than four months into the job, Japan’s new prime minister has launched one of the world’s most ambitious programmes of fiscal and monetary easing. His goal is to defeat the scourge of deflation that has corroded the once-dynamic economy, shrinking it by 9 percent in 15 years. But is Abenomics having its desired effect?
Kuroda does what he can for BOJ’s inflation goal
By Andy Mukherjee
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
The Bank of Japan’s new chief has dumped his predecessor’s timid script. Haruhiko Kuroda has crafted an ambitious new plan to end the country’s chronic deflation.
Abandoned gold loans are India’s “jingle mail”
By Andy Mukherjee
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
The myth that Indians’ love for gold is driven by tradition rather than financial self-interest has been dashed. Falling prices have prompted borrowers who took out loans secured against the yellow metal to break a cultural taboo and abandon their collateral. It’s the Indian equivalent of American homeowners who walked away from their underwater mortgages by mailing the keys to their homes to the bank.
Breakingviews: Abandoned gold loans are India’s “jingle mail”
By Andy Mukherjee
SINGAPORE (Reuters Breakingviews) – The myth that Indians’ love for gold is driven by tradition rather than financial self-interest has been dashed. Falling prices have prompted borrowers who took out loans secured against the yellow metal to break a cultural taboo and abandon their collateral. It’s the Indian equivalent of American homeowners who walked away from their underwater mortgages by mailing the keys to their homes to the bank.
India’s version of the “jingle mail” came to light when Manappuram Finance, a lender against gold, recently warned that defaulting borrowers would force it to report a quarterly loss. The lender’s Mumbai-listed shares tanked 31 percent over just three days. The precipitous fall was partly due to concerns the company had selectively leaked its guidance – a charge Manappuram denies. But clearly the lender, which was forecasting a profit as recently as February, had underestimated the borrowers’ response.
Breakingviews: India’s banks stuck in a monetary trap
(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own)
By Andy Mukherjee
SINGAPORE (Reuters Breakingviews) – India’s banks are stuck in a monetary trap. The Reserve Bank of India’s interest rate cut on March 19 should enable them to offer cheaper loans to customers, helping spur the economy. Instead, they have little choice but to keep the benefit for themselves.
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