The tentative deal that was just struck to raise the United States’ debt ceiling won’t make the problem go away. Partisan standoffs over the federal debt limit have become a predictable feature of Ame ...More
EJ Insight2023-05-30
Everything changed in early 2020, when it became clear that COVID-19 was not going to be contained. Suddenly, life in the United States and many other countries came to a near standstill: schools and ...More
EJ Insight2023-05-29
Last November’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, concluded on a historic high note, with the last-minute agreement to establish a “loss and damage” fund. The ...More
EJ Insight2023-05-29
... or even death. Prior to Salk’s discovery, between 25,000 and 50,000 cases were recorded each year in the United States alone, and little was known about how the virus spread. Salk created his injectab ...More
EJ Insight2023-05-25
The recent failure of two smaller banks, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, has raised concerns about whether we are on the brink of another financial crisis, similar to the 2008 global financial ...More
EJ Insight2023-05-25
Heavy rain poured again this morning in Guangdong and I was stuck at a building near the East station to catch the first high-speed train back to Hong Kong. A security guard approached this puzzled ba ...More
EJ Insight2023-05-24
According to the United Nations Population Division, the number of persons aged 65 and older is expected to double over the next three decades. Asia is at the forefront of this trend, with Hong Kong, ...More
EJ Insight2023-05-24
Essayist George Santayana once quipped the above, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” At face value, this aphorism is rather apt and intuitive. After all, history sheds li ...More
EJ Insight2023-05-24
It is too early to tell whether all the talk about reforming development finance at this year’s International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings will translate into meaningful policy action ...More
EJ Insight2023-05-23
The importance of the housing market cannot be overstated: we all need a place to live, and our personal wealth is often closely tied to property. For economists, the market is of particular interest ...More
EJ Insight2023-05-23
How should we come to understand success? There exists a plethora of metrics out there. One’s wealth and net worth, tracked approximately by one’s income and occupational class. One’s so-called ‘socia ...More
EJ Insight2023-05-23
The Chinese are better educated than at any time in the country’s history – this year a record 11.6 million will graduate from universities. But youth employment – those between 16 and 24 – reached 20 ...More
EJ Insight2023-05-22
Last year, China suffered its most intense heatwave, with nearly one billion people experiencing temperatures exceeding 35°C. This year, the China Meteorological Administration has warned that more ex ...More
EJ Insight2023-05-19
The fixed income returns in Q1 show that, in an environment of elevated yields, bonds can perform well amidst a challenging backdrop. The increase in global yields to near decade-high levels indicates ...More
EJ Insight2023-05-19
Last April was a lively and exciting month, beginning with the HKU Presidents' Forum, which brought together some of the world's best brains to discuss major global issues such as climate change and a ...More
EJ Insight2023-05-18
During my lengthy career in finance, I picked up several market heuristics that have generally proven more useful than not. Every January, for example, I remember the “five-day rule,” which holds that ...More
EJ Insight2023-05-18
On March 30, at the Boao Forum, Chinese Premier Li Qiang told foreign business leaders that China had always attached great importance to attracting and utilising foreign investment. Since then, secur ...More
EJ Insight2023-05-18
