Emerging Markets: Bracing for More Bad News?

17 April 2020 We have all seen the evidence that investors have deserted Emerging Markets in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Indeed, the following Chart illustrates the liquidation of EM assets has been considerably larger than in past episodes, including the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). As a result, the following Chart illustrates that EM [...]

China: Trade Deal Won’t End Slowdown

12 January 2020 The prospect that this week the USA and China will sign Phase 1 of a trade deal has buoyed financial markets. Of course, I will assess the impact of the agreement as details emerge. However, initial optimism is warranted if the plan represents the first step towards a comprehensive trade agreement (even [...]

Turkey: Boom, Bust, What Comes Next?

22 February 2019 Last year's Turkish financial market crisis emanated from the confluence of several domestic and international factors. To be sure, Turkey is no stranger to boom-bust economic cycles.  And, fueled by overly expansive macroeconomic policies, the Turkish economy was overheating and inflation rising sharply by mid-2018.  Against this already challenging backdrop, the Erdogan [...]