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Macroscope

Macroscope
Daily insight on the hottest topics in the global economy, central bank policymaking and international trade flows, putting developments in their perspective for a China-oriented audience.
US President Donald Trump closes his eyes before signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on August 10. Photo: AFP
Artificial intelligence

Macroscope | Why are global leaders asleep to risks of uncritical AI adoption?

Much like their drowsiness on climate change, world leaders have been lulled to sleep by promises of AI’s benefits to efficiency and profits.

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Artificial intelligence

Macroscope | Could China be a hedge against risk of AI investment boom going bust?

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Banking & finance

Macroscope | Behind the AI stock market bubble lies a weak yen

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Banking & finance

Macroscope | US efforts to prop up the yen risk doing more harm than good

Reversing the yen’s long-term decline ultimately rests on Japan’s ability to take its real interest rates out of negative territory – without triggering market panic.

A person walks past an electronic board showing Japan’s Nikkei index chart in Tokyo on August 6. At a time when the US is the main source of volatility in global markets, Washington’s participation in the Japanese currency intervention adds another layer of uncertainty. Photo: AP
Japan

Macroscope | Takaichi’s embrace of industrial policy won’t make Japan great again

Governments trying to pick winners is a futile pursuit in a fragmented world that needs a coordinated global development strategy.

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China economy

Macroscope | Upper arm of China’s K-shaped economy both a blessing and a curse

China’s two-speed economy stems from the shift to new growth engines but the export boom it has created is doing little for jobs or consumption.

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Climate change

Macroscope | Who pays when overheated roads melt and rails buckle?

Costs are mounting from the damage caused by extreme weather on roads, railways, bridges and other basic infrastructure.

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Melting asphalt, like this seen in India in the 2015 heatwave, is now increasingly common. Photo: EPA
Stocks

Macroscope | Emerging markets have a concentration problem. Investors will have to live with it

Investors nervous about the dominance of South Korean and Taiwanese chipmakers can’t afford to ignore them.

Japan

Macroscope | Why Japan should be able to weather a US market crash

Successive Japanese governments have spent decades building financial infrastructure that other Asian countries can emulate.

US Federal Reserve

Macroscope | Silence isn’t golden for a world looking to Kevin Warsh’s Fed

While forward guidance often proved counterproductive, it is the US central bank’s job to inform markets about the outlook for monetary policy, not the other way round.

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A television displays Kevin Warsh, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, speaking at a press conference as traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on June 17. Warsh spoke about the Federal Reserve decision to keep interest rates unchanged for the fourth time this year. Photo: AFP
Japan

Macroscope | 3 reasons behind the Japanese yen’s persistent decline

The continued slide in the yen has raised concern, but what happens in the bond market will determine whether the bearishness extends far beyond Japan.

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A local hunter touches a bear dummy during an emergency response drill for bear and other wildlife intrusions in Isehara, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan on July 3. Photo: AFP
Hong Kong economy

Macroscope | How AI is both a boon and a bane for Hong Kong’s stock market

The AI trade has shown gaps in Hong Kong’s stock market, but the share sale boom suggests it is set to capitalise on Beijing’s AI ambitions.

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Banking & finance

Macroscope | Can Andy Burnham fix Britain’s essential services and debt problem?

The favourite to become Britain’s next prime minister is the latest figure promoting greater state control of important national assets.

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India

Macroscope | Is investors’ love affair with India ending?

Investors have flocked to tech-heavy markets, but looming US interest rate rises and volatility fears could see India’s star shine again.

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People shop at a city market in Bangalore on June 23. India’s equity market is no longer in the world’s top five by market capitalisation, having fallen behind Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea in recent years. Photo: EPA
Japan

Macroscope | Why Japan’s proposal for G7 critical mineral stockpiles is a bad idea

Tokyo’s overtures towards the G7 assume that China is a threat to be countered with economic or security measures.

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(From left) Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, US President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz prepare for a group picture at Hotel Royal during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France on June 16. Photo: EPA
US, Israel war on Iran

Macroscope | Investors focused on Hormuz miss bigger threat to world economy

As energy security becomes a more potent force, stress tests for countries vulnerable to supply disruptions are likely to become more severe.

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Stocks

Macroscope | Moment of truth is coming for the AI stock boom

Tech barons are seeking to raise outrageous sums before the balloon goes up. If it does, where will portfolio investment go?

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United States

Macroscope | Investors expecting a US interest rate rise could be in for a surprise

Rising bond yields are doing some of the Fed’s work, as are investor fears over the US central bank’s independence under Kevin Warsh.

US President Donald Trump (right) enjoys a light moment during the swearing-in ceremony for US Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on May 22. Photo: Reuters
Japan

Macroscope | The problem with Japan’s bid to strengthen energy security, supply chains

By competing rather than dovetailing with the Belt and Road Initiative, the joint project with the World Bank reflects increasing regional fragmentation.

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South Korea

Macroscope | How the AI chip boom made South Korea a victim of its own success

While tech giants are driving South Korea’s stock market higher, the country’s currency is struggling and foreign investors are pulling out.

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Banking & finance

Macroscope | Why bond yields are going up everywhere

Unlike stock markets, bond markets are signalling a more cognisant and mature appreciation of the state of government finances.

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A woman walks past anti-US graffiti painted on the wall of Tehran University in Iran, on April 25. The war has pushed up inflation and added to the financial burden of already highly indebted countries. Photo: AP
Stocks

Macroscope | Why commodities could be the next big thing in markets

Investors’ desire for firms with ‘heavy assets, low obsolescence’ has turned the spotlight on commodities, a sector starved of capital.

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The Jeffrey Energy Centre coal-fired power plant is seen at sunset near Emmett, Kansas, on January 3. Investors’ appetite for asset-heavy alternatives to tech stocks has helped the energy sector perform nearly as well as tech in the past year. Photo: AP
Banking & finance

Macroscope | Can Europe and Asia break the grip of US bond markets?

Too much money is chasing too few investment opportunities. Unified bond markets in Europe and Asia could offer safe options for savings to flow into.

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Bonds

Macroscope | Bond market sell-off raises stakes for Asia’s tech-driven economies

Stakes are high for Asia’s tech-driven economies amid a global sell-off in bond markets that signals investor fears.

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Stocks

Macroscope | Global stock markets are bubbling along on unjustified optimism

Hype around AI and some tech companies has inflated stock prices and left investors ebullient despite the rising risk of a market crash.

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Currency dealers celebrate in front of a screen showing South Korea’s benchmark stock index during a ceremony celebrating it breaking 7,000 points at the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on May 6. The market value of South Korea’s Samsung Electronics smashed past US$1 trillion for the first time on May 6 as the firm rides an AI chip boom that has sent Seoul’s Kospi stock index to record highs. Photo: AFP
2026 Xi-Trump summits

Macroscope | Trump-Xi summit puts US vulnerabilities on display

China weaponising rare earths turned the tables on Trump, showing how unprepared Western governments and firms were for a full trade war.

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Children greet Chinese President Xi Jinping (second right) and US President Donald Trump during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14. Photo: Reuters
Banking & finance

Macroscope | Mini-crises sparked by the Iran war may add up to a big collapse

From energy, inflation and trade to slowing global growth and investment uncertainty, these mini-crises have the makings of a massive crisis.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Macroscope | How the AI boom is helping Asia weather the Iran war energy shock

The war in Iran might as well be over for investors as positive sentiment, strong corporate earnings and the AI boom lift Asian markets.

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