Norman Villamin

China can draw lessons from the experiences of Japan and South Korea, to cushion some of the pain that economic transitions entail.
CIO CORNER

Opportunities in new paradigms ahead for China

Investors can expand their focus from government priority sectors towards efficient users of capital and corporate leaders who can consolidate growing segments...

gold, ingots, treasure
CIO CORNER

The three-year gold bull market isn’t over

The metal is not only an investment return opportunity, it is also a foundation for inflation-adjusted wealth preservation and risk management

Israeli security forces and first responders gather in front of a building heavily damaged by an Iranian strike in Tel Aviv on June 22, 2025. Investors should recognise that a growing range of events has crossed red lines and presage a new regime of elevated geopolitical volatility.
CIO CORNER

Israel vs Iran: Navigating a new regime of geopolitical risk

Periodic spikes in equity and bond market volatility are part of a new equilibrium that requires a proactive risk management approach

US
CIO CORNER

Tariffs challenge: What markets are and aren’t pricing in

Earnings expectations have not yet corrected enough to price in the recessionary scenario that bond markets fear

DeepSeek could well help China restart its economy overall, a critical step in economic reform and restructuring.
CIO CORNER

DeepSeek: Another piece in the puzzle of China’s post-bubble recovery

Its founder Liang Wenfeng has forged a new path forward within the ongoing AI race

With four years in Trump's final term as US president and only two years of assured Congressional majorities. Trump is expected to move quickly in 2025 to change the status quo.
CIO CORNER

Trump likely to ‘move fast and break things’ to reshape the US and the world order

Investing in resilient corporates which can weather such rapid transformation – and also the prospect that changes may not take place smoothly...

China has floated the prospect of a 1 trillion yuan for bank recapitalisation, at less than 1 per cent of GDP.
CIO CORNER

A historical context to China’s ‘whatever-it-takes’ efforts to boost the economy

China has a track record of taking bold, decisive moves to address banking system challenges and restore sustained growth

The futures market anticipated Fed rate cuts at mid-month that were forecast to reach close to 3.25 per cent by end-2025. 
CIO CORNER

Could the Fed end quantitative tightening in the weeks ahead?

The summer of 2024 may have finally brought increased urgency on the part of the Fed to roll back its tightening stance

Big Tech companies are following Apple's lead to deploy measures to manage capital more efficiently to drive earnings growth.
CIO CORNER

Can Big Tech stocks continue to lead the equities rally?

Fortunately for investors, the tech-led equity performance has been driven primarily by earnings, rather than speculative valuation-led gains in markets

FILE PHOTO: The Federal Reserve building stands in Washington April 3, 2012. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
CIO CORNER

Will the Fed still cut interest rates?

Even though traditional catalysts for a rate-cutting cycle are still to be met, debt sustainability and financial system stability appear to be...