Daniel Moss

This photo taken on November 4, 2025, shows employees assembling furniture inside the Jonathan Charles Fine Furniture factory in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
THE BOTTOM LINE

Vietnam won’t let go of the global economy

The export powerhouse needs its factories to keep humming

The renminbi  is up almost 4% against the US dollar, and on course for the best annual performance in five years.

Why the push for a stronger renminbi won’t go away

With the US dollar likely to be soft for a few years, to hold the Chinese currency back would be to allow...

President Prabowo Subianto, beginning his second year in office, should break with his predecessors and offer a more grounded view of how fast the sprawling and densely populated archipelago can actually grow.

Indonesia should forget 8% growth and face reality

The country stays resilient in the 5% growth club, defying weak consumption, protests and global trade turmoil

Governor Michele Bullock says policy is pretty close to neutral, a point that neither juices the economy nor constrains it.

Australia’s economy is suddenly in too good a place

Under present conditions, there’s a tension between maintaining price stability and fostering employment

The challenge of bumping up fertility rates is particularly acute in Asia, where the most successful economies are ensnared by rock-bottom birthrates and rapidly ageing societies.

How keeping up with the Joneses in parenting is crimping fertility

A new study urges policymakers to consider taxing private education or scaling back favourable treatment

With steep duties attached to Chinese exports to the US, a decent portion of what was once destined for America must find buyers elsewhere.

Why this China shock will hit close to home

With the US market cooling, where will China’s trade surplus go?

A baht that is too robust is said to be able to destroy Thailand's competitiveness. Businesses tend to prefer exchange rates that are weaker, rather than those that are strong.

A runaway currency is putting Thailand in a tight spot

The baht is one of the region’s best performers against the US dollar this year, reaching the highest level since 2021

Beijing has launched a campaign to curb the cut-throat competition that’s eroded profits and driven down wages. Addressing the spectre of deflation is good, but this resembles a shoot-the-messenger approach, says the writer.
THE BOTTOM LINE

China’s economy needs help, but will it come?

Poor data shows the limits of Beijing’s wait-and-see approach

US Fed governor Christopher Waller told a conference in Seoul that Inflation is receding and, with a bit of luck, the Fed should be able to cut its main interest rate a few times this year.
THE BOTTOM LINE

What even is good economic news anymore?

The trade war is making it hard to absorb positive messages

A worker polishes machinery in the workshop of a factory which produces steel machinery for export, in Hangzhou, in China’s eastern Zhejiang province on February 21, 2025. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT
PERSPECTIVE

When being the China alternative isn’t enough

Cordial relations with Beijing and longstanding US ties may no longer be sufficient for supply chains to survive