Newspaper icon
The latest issue of Financial Standard now available as an e-newspaper
READ NOW

Search Results

Showing 131 - 140 of 2991 results for Benjamin Ong

Chief economist update: Eurozone at risk of double-dip

BENJAMIN ONG  |  MONDAY, 18 JAN 2021
The longer the Eurozone takes to get on top of the resurgence, the longer the lockdowns, the greater the risk of a double-dip recession. COVID-19 infections in Europe started re-appearing and multiplying sometime around October last year. The growth ...

Chief economist update: Yuan the victim of China's success

BENJAMIN ONG  |  FRIDAY, 15 JAN 2021
The Chinese yuan has seen a sharp appreciation, leading major Chinese news outlets to report that the government would be relaxing rules to make it simpler to settle the currency internationally. 'Twas less than one and a half years ago that the ...

Chief economist update: China on my mind

BENJAMIN ONG  |  THURSDAY, 14 JAN 2021
The All Ordinaries index finished 2020 with a gain of 0.7%. Nothing to write home to mother about, especially compared with the 16.3% and 16.0% surge in the S&P 500 and the Nikkei-225, respectively, over the same period. However, the local bourse's ...

Chief economist update: COVID with a vengeance

BENJAMIN ONG  |  WEDNESDAY, 13 JAN 2021
Brexit is over. But even before the UK and the EU shook hands on the post-Brexit trade and cooperation pact on 24 December 2020 and before the ink on the signatures of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles ...

Chief economist update: The virus, the vaccine, the variant

BENJAMIN ONG  |  TUESDAY, 12 JAN 2021
"Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water." - Jaws About this time last year, the world was alerted - but only mildly alarmed - at yet another SARS-like disease spreading in Wuhan, China (the first confirmed case reported on December ...

Chief economist update: No pandemic on Wall Street

BENJAMIN ONG  |  MONDAY, 11 JAN 2021
Pandemic? What pandemic? The S&P500 index the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 2020 at record highs despite the US topping the list of countries with most total cases of coronavirus infections (21.3 million or roughly 25% of the world's total) ...

Chief economist update: Government spending made money, saved money

BENJAMIN ONG  |  FRIDAY, 18 DEC 2020
The Morrison government has released its Mid-Year Economic Financial Outlook (MYEFO), proving the old saying 'You must spend money to make money' right. This quote, generally attributed to Roman playwright, poet and philosopher Titus Maccius ...

Chief economist update: Fed acts with inaction

BENJAMIN ONG  |  THURSDAY, 17 DEC 2020
The Fed's final act for the pandemic year 2020 was inaction. At the conclusion of its December FOMC meeting, the US Federal Reserve said: "The Committee decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at zero to 0.25% and expects it ...

Australia in China's shadow

BENJAMIN ONG  |  WEDNESDAY, 16 DEC 2020
"Convince your enemy that he will gain very little by attacking you; this will diminish his enthusiasm" - Sun Tzu, The Art of War It would be surprising and un-Chinese for China not to heed the prescriptions of one of its famous son, Sun Tzu - a military ...

Chief economist update: East and west at crossroads

BENJAMIN ONG  |  TUESDAY, 15 DEC 2020
China has continued to tighten the screws on Australia after formally banning the importation of Australian coal. The reason, or reasons, are immaterial. Beijing could dig up a number of justifications for its most recent diktat the same way it did ...