If any of you were paying attention during the financial crisis of 2007–08, you may remember when the U.S. credit rating agencies failed the entire world. This is not an exaggeration or hyperbole—fundamentally their business models failed and they were completely exposed. Imagine a bridge builder paying a bridge...

Over at the often contrarian and somewhat foreboding Zero Hedge (ZH), they have a report regarding their take on the recent Nikkei Review’s report that “the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) and other public pensions sold approximately ¥1.8 trillion (US$17.4 billion) more in Japanese government bonds than they bought...

Coming soon to a financial district near you… the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). China is in the process of setting up the AIIB to fund infrastructure projects in the Asia region as a complement to what the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is already doing. Initial paid-in capital is...

Tensions between China and Japan escalated to the point last year where even a casual observer could see there was serious cause for concern… but the numbers are now in, and it seems that the business reality of things paints a rosier picture. Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China...

Thailand’s largest asset managers are holding cash and remaining skeptical on the mad rush into the benchmark SET Index, which jumped 20% from this year’s low. As a seeming contrast to the exuberance, the country’s Social Security Office (SSO), which manages pensions for local workers, and Bangkok-based Kasikorn Asset...

Financial services, manufacturing, real estate, mining, wholesale, and retail in the Philippines all saw a surge of net foreign direct investments of nearly 80%. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reports that the month of March showed an increase to US$476 million, from US$266 million in the same month last...

Not since 1970 have foreign visitors to Japan outspent Japanese visitors abroad. It’s taken 44 years, but according to Japan’s Ministry of Finance the country’s travel balance is finally out of the red. This balance is calculated very simply by subtracting the amount Japanese travelers have spent overseas from...

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has said in its annual report, Global Wealth 2014, that the Asia–Pacific region excluding Japan will be the wealthiest in the world in terms of private wealth. The report defines private wealth as cash, deposits, and securities, but excludes real estate. The report also...

Famous for a variety of reasons, the City by the Bay could soon be adding currency trading center to its resume, as it sets out to become the West Coast hub for currency transactions conducted in Chinese Renminbi (RMB). If successful, San Francisco would join ranks alongside Hong Kong,...

Myanmar to issue foreign banks limited licenses towards the end of the year, with the goal of attracting foreign investment into the frontier market. Current foreign banks with representative offices in Myanmar include Standard Chartered PLC, Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank, Singapore’s Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), Australia and New Zealand...