While China's export juggernaut has encountered stiff resistance in the US, factories are sending volumes of cheap products to the rest of Asia. Consumers will find that attractive, but local manufacturers may fear it. My column explains. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Central bankers are big believers in free markets. The global emporium for their skills seems robust enough, and Anna Breman's appointment sends a strong signal. But it may not be one that RBNZ insiders are entirely comfortable with. My column explains. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Indonesia is clearly on the cusp of a transformation. But in what image? One place Indonesia should refrain from emulating is Turkey, a country whose fairly strong growth record masks steep challenges. My column explains. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

The years have been kind to the Plaza Accord. It was the high point of post-World War II financial diplomacy. Despite many pretenders in the years since, few agreements have come close. My column with @gearoidreidy.bsky.social explains. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

This might not sound like a policy revolution. But it represents a shift — and a tricky one to just get right. The more so given the abrupt exit of the respected finance minister. My column today explains. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Indrawati was a reassuring figure for investors over more than a decade. But her once sky-high stock had become diminished. Removing her was a risky step, but not so dangerous as it might have been had Prabowo pushed her out in the last year. My column explains. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

The 1980s were a golden age. Major reforms laid the ground for a long boom. But there is now soul searching. Can the magic be recovered? Shifts don't have to be quite so massive, they just have to move things forward. Keep at it, Australia. My column explains. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Reordering a country of Indonesia’s size isn’t done easily or without frictions. To make Indonesia Inc. sustainable, Prabowo could do worse than take a breath — and try to bring everyone along. My column puts unrest in a broad economic context. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

While Powell was undoubtedly the main attraction at Jackson Hole, there were other weighty issues on the table. The role of men — and societal values — in declining fertility was among them. We fathers can do better. My column explains www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

As strong as Vietnam’s performance has been, it needs to brace for more difficult times. Communist leaders want to develop a modern financial system -- and a central bank that’s fit for the task of managing it. My column explains www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

After an encouraging start to the year, China's expansion is in trouble. But authorities have given little sign they are prepared to jettison the caution that has characterized their actions. Beijing seems intent to just muddle through. My column explains www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

It’s notable that countries aren't lining up to fire back. With the exception of China, which has escalated and retreated to match US rhythms, there have been few reprisals. But the nations humiliated won't forget this experience. My column explains www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Bad news can only be massaged so much. DC statisticians do a decent job, no matter what Trump says. I've reported on data from places that could have been fairly equated with bananas — and some that should have known better. My column explains. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Indonesia's free lunch program is a massive undertaking. It's hard to fault the goal, but in a nation of more than 280 million people, someone has to pick up a hefty check. Can Jakarta afford it? My column explains the stakes www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

What if tariffs are as much about looking tough as achieving results? If so, then there’s little that America’s partners can do to satisfy US demands — assuming they’re even intended to be met. And that they won’t change. My column explains www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

The Philippines can count its lucky stars that manufacturing never really took off. When supply chains began winding through neighbors, the archipelago was largely overlooked. It's now less exposed to tariffs. My column explains  www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Even tourism, usually something the country can fall back on during soft patches, is enduring a slowdown. HBO’s hit show The White Lotus — set on Koh Samui — garnered millions of viewers but failed to pay big dividends for the kingdom. My column explains www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

The country sure has a lot on its plate. It should avoid going overboard on sweating demographics. That’s not an existential issue — yet. Trade, so closely linked with industrialization, is the more vital and immediate front www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

The tragedy of the Mekong: The world's largest inland fishery is facing threats from all sides. My column explains www.bloomberg.com/opinion/feat...

Tough to be anything other than bearish on USD right now. Given Trump's policies, a down year is fair. But beware the `sell America' triumphalism. Obituaries have been written before, including in 1971, and they haven't dated well. My column explains www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Prabowo is only seven months into his term and some of the toughest decisions still lie ahead. Nonetheless, the sense of chaos that characterized the very start of the administration has abated -- and markets approve. My column explains   www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

It would be a mistake to see the PM as merely contra-Trump. He embodies the rise of central bankers to deity-like status -- and the emphasis they have placed on messaging and presentation. My column explains www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

The turmoil forces some uncomfortable questions, which, though not entirely new, tended to be considered something for another day. The wisdom of relying on US guarantees, in both finance and diplomacy, is getting fresh scrutiny. My column explains www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Paul Volcker recognized there was more going on in New Zealand than great fishing. The tiny nation's big export was inflation targeting. Now the central bank is having a tough time; ties with politicians have deteriorated. My column explains the significance www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

It’s fine for the dollar to lose ground against the yen and euro for a while. Trump's tariffs are poor policy; US prestige has taken a hit. But the greenback has been given last rites plenty of times before. It still rules the FX world. My column explains   www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Services are reshaping global trade -- and the US runs a surplus. If globalization has a prayer, it's because the White House is basically ignoring this huge growth area. My column discusses the long-run stakes for the world economy www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

This isn't a column about which institution will be the first to cut interest rates after Liberation Day -- or even whether they should. The broader theme is the relegation of monetary authorities. Does the world still belong to them? Scary question! www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

There's tragedy here. The penalties will deal a heavy blow to the Vietnamese economy as a whole, and to the middle-class aspirations of millions. Irony is also present. Firms shifted production out of China -- and got hit with levies anyway. My column explains www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

For decades, American companies were buoyed by making products abroad. The practice brought benefits for the US economy, constrained inflation, and delivered influence for Washington. The system Trump sees as a prison was anything but. My column explains     www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

From restoring the political role of the army, to stretching fiscal covenants and bringing state-backed firms more into his orbit, Prabowo looks determined to reshape his country. In our column, @karishmajourno.bsky.social and I scrutinize the president's approach www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

The USD may well have a soft year, and it’s prudent to position for a possible recession. But it will take more than antipathy toward the president to create a new FX world. My column today explains. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Indonesia’s hard-won reputation for stability is under great strain. The big emerging market is often the subject of rosy projections, but the nation sometimes struggles to get out of its own way. My column explains www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Disappointing as low fertility is, these nations are wealthier than might have been imagined decades ago. Addressing birthrates — or alleviating the impact — deserves to be a priority, but it's hard to judge it a catastrophe. My column explains www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Call it friendshoring or China+1, this was never an exit from the Asian giant but a hedging of bets. This fudge is likely to get harder — and the consequences of a deeper shift in trading patterns stand to be profound. My column explains www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Michele Bullock has been at the helm of the Reserve Bank of Australia for more than a year, but in an important way, her tenure begins now.  www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Behind the outrage is an underlying fear that long-held assumptions that China and, possibly, India will eclipse the US are wide of the mark. My column explains www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

These days, no one who has been to a Japanese supermarket thinks the threat facing Japan is deflation. My colleague @gearoidreidy.bsky.social and I argue that it's well past time for the political elite to take the win www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

The greater import may not be what happens to individual countries or even specific industries, but the collateral damage to the standing of trade agreements and the ideas that underpinned them. My column explains. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

The quest for faster growth that the new leader desires may prove costly if accompanied by a surplus of U-turns. Shifts in fiscal policy and interest rates have not been encouraging. My column explains.    www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Korea ought to be doing better. Inflation is easing and, as a major exporter, the nation stood to benefit from an upswing in global growth. But politics is getting in the way, a reminder that big economies don’t just run themselves. My column explains. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

The most astute central bankers realized long ago that the more the public is prepared for their moves, the greater latitude they have. The BOJ is right to be cautious. This column by @gearoidreidy.bsky.social and myself explains www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

The current generation of officials have to contend with a lopsided global economy, supply-chain shocks and climate change — in addition to striving for price stability and decent growth. Quite the cocktail. My column explains. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Ueda’s work may not be complete, but he recognized his initial priority and stuck to it. That Japan’s economy hasn’t suffered too much damage is either luck or a natural result of the governor’s caution. I wrote about this with @gearoidreidy.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Indonesia is defending its currency and swelling the central bank's bond holdings. Discipline will be key to riding out this year www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Who actually is running the country right now? Someone needs to make the big calls in a consequential economy and firm American ally. The Bank of Korea is a good place to start. My column explains. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Indonesia is taking what officials describe as bold steps to prop up its currency. Fair enough. But there is a broader issue that transcends national boundaries: EMs are no longer flavor of the month -- or year. My column explains. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

The greenback's dominance goes beyond an official desire for a strong dollar, a weak one or something in between. The USD is tightly woven into the fabric of the modern economy. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

US leaders don’t need to balance the primary budget next year or the year after. But they need to set out a realistic path and a credible timeline, writes @jonathanjlevin.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

With few exceptions, excessive debt and deficits have always plagued postwar America. And yet, the economy has gone from strength to strength. @bobburgess.bsky.social & Clive Crook debate the crisis that never quite materializes www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Most policymakers worth their salt have been spotted as all kinds of birds over the course of their career. But underlying conditions tend to drive responses, rather than ideological leanings. Keep that in mind for 2025 www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...