Showing 1 - 10 of 264
Trump is not entirely wrong about China
News, Published on 31/05/2025
» President Donald Trump's embrace of tariffs has been met with criticism, and for sound reasons. But Mr Trump's diagnosis of the global trading system -- and, specifically, its impact on US manufacturing -- may not be entirely wrong. The problem, instead, is the treatment: rather than using a chainsaw, which would probably kill the patient, he should reach for a scalpel.
US fiscal state is everyone's issue
Oped, Published on 28/05/2025
» As Donald Trump's "big, beautiful" tax bill heads to the US Senate, investors everywhere are growing increasingly uneasy. On May 16, the credit-rating agency Moody's downgraded US sovereign debt from its long-held triple-A status to Aa1 -- following similar decisions by Standard & Poor's (in 2011) and Fitch Ratings (2023). Given the sheer volume of US debt -- which now stands at $36 trillion, or 124% of GDP -- and rising interest costs, these institutions have concluded that US debt metrics are no longer in line with those of similarly rated sovereigns.
Learn before driving
Postbag, Published on 27/05/2025
» Re: "Fund lures Thai dropouts back to school", (BP, May 22).
Thai-US trade talks are likely to fail
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 15/05/2025
» Don't get too excited over news the temporary trade deal between China and the US will mean friendly negotiations with other countries. The US government still aims for higher import tax income to narrow its monstrous fiscal deficit. As explained in a previous article, Donald Trump would love to see an average tariff rate of around 20% or higher on imports. Higher customs revenue already allowed the US to achieve a budget surplus of US$258 billion (8.5 trillion baht) in April. The figure incorporates only a 10% universal tariff, as full reciprocal tariffs were postponed for 90 days from April 8. Just imagine how nice the US budget position would be with 20% or more import tariff revenue?
How nations can counter Trump's trade trickery
Oped, Koichi Hamada, Published on 10/05/2025
» Much has been written about US President Donald Trump's disastrous "reciprocal" tariffs, which, despite having remained in effect for less than 24 hours, roiled the stock market, drove up Treasury yields, and caused the dollar to depreciate. In fact, the tariffs that have so badly undermined markets' faith in the US were never reciprocal at all: they were entirely unilateral actions betraying a fundamental misunderstanding of economics.
Dollar confusion reigns amid uncertainty
News, Published on 10/05/2025
» Currency markets that only a few months ago assumed a trade war would lift the US dollar now suspect that a full-scale devaluation may be underway, suggesting few market players have a clear handle yet on the US administration's dollar plans.
Empowering middle-income states
News, Published on 28/04/2025
» Spanning across all regions of the world -- from Latin America to Africa, from Eastern Europe to Southeast Asia and the Pacific -- middle-income countries (MICs) constitute over 100 countries, hosting 75% of the world's population and producing 35% of global GDP. Many MICs are in Asia.
Nail on the head
Oped, Postbag, Published on 19/04/2025
» Re: "Backing Trump on tariffs, not on tone", (Opinion, April 17). The article by economist Chartchai Parasuk shows a rare practitioner of the dismal science who writes eloquently. However, I do get the impression the good economist risks missing the forest for the trees because he put too much focus solely on the trade balance.
Americans can't win from trade war by Trump
Oped, Published on 12/04/2025
» The world is reeling from US President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day", when he announced the highest US tariffs in more than a century.
Trump, Bitcoin and the dollar
Oped, Published on 13/03/2025
» In a March 6 executive order, US President Donald Trump established a "digital gold" Bitcoin reserve, to be capitalised with any BTC seized by federal law enforcement. With the supply of BTC capped at 21 million coins, the administration wants the United States to secure a first-mover advantage as a major holder of an emerging store of value. But since it is unlikely that seized BTC alone can achieve the desired scale, the US also may purchase it on the open market.