2025 showstoppers and 2026 market movers – Sound Economies with Mel & Peter, 27 February 2026
In this video podcast, we identify three show-stopping events of 2025 that will remain key market drivers this year. For one, the AI-driven stock market surge had been strong but was limited to certain economies. We ask: do you think... Read More →
Sound Economies with Mel & Peter: 19 February 2026
We flag some concerns in Southeast Asia: Indonesia’s USD 760 million planned consumption stimulus and initial hints of a crisis for the Philippine peso. We also look at more Chinese firms establishing homebases in Singapore, and an early exit planned... Read More →
Sound Economies with Mel & Peter: 12 February 2026
Markets rallied after Prime Minister Takaichi’s Liberal party dominated Japan’s lower house election, but we stay wary about bold fiscal expansions without sustainable funding. We also look at China getting ahead in the global chips race, US fast food giants... Read More →
Sound Economies with Mel & Peter: 5 February 2026
In this episode, we observe silver and gold prices plunge over the past week while China stocks saw a deep one-day slide. Though worrisome, we argue that these declines should not trigger panic among investors. We also weigh expectations regarding... Read More →
Sound Economies with Mel & Peter: 29 January 2026
Trump’s wild rhetoric has claimed new victims: the US dollar, which suffered a continuing slide against the yen; and consumer confidence that has plunged to a 12-year low. This bolsters our forecast of a 10% slide for the dollar this... Read More →
Sound Economies with Mel & Peter: 22 January 2026
Trump is pushing the markets to new limits as he threatens a renewed tariff war with the EU over his quest to acquire Greenland – an attempt that would make life harder for investors and offer little gains for the... Read More →
Sound Economies with Mel & Peter: 15 January 2026
Trump vows to raise public spending on defence but demands defence companies to temper dividend payouts in favour of reinvesting to raise production, and we explain why this is unhealthy. This episode, we also look at the escalating attack on... Read More →
Sound Economies with Mel & Peter: 8 January 2026
Big shifts headline the new year. In our maiden episode for 2026, we look at cost of living pains in the US and Europe against a fast-growing middle class in Asia, the latter fueled by high economic growth. We explain... Read More →
Sound Economies with Mel & Peter: 18 December 2025
The German government wants to attract private capital with a EUR 130 billion investment fund, but we disagree with this strategy. On our last episode for 2025, we take the latest US jobs report as another confirmation of the economy’s... Read More →
Sound Economies with Mel & Peter: 11 December 2025
We are at the second to the last episode of this year. This time, we observe the US dollar was on a losing streak in 2025, and we expect this to persist into the new year amid heightened uncertainty in... Read More →









