Sound Economies with Mel and Peter

The world’s two biggest economies are engaged in another battle, this time over global AI dominance. Between the two, we find one market offering better opportunities. We also look at strong manufacturing recovery in ASEAN, some hints for the upcoming... Read More →

The US Federal Reserve is staying silent on the future path of interest rates under new chairman Kevin Warsh, and we see this raising market jitters. This, coupled with rising fears over inflation and public debt, has sent 30-year Treasury... Read More →

Governments in East Asia are counting on public money to lure in private capital, but we think this is unhealthy. This episode, we look at China’s $9-billion intervention in the stock market and Japan’s $2.3-trillion investment roadmap. We also discuss... Read More →

Markets are likely to feel more nervous in the coming weeks as US-Iran tensions flare again, this time in the face of depleting global oil reserves. We still expect an end to the conflict soon but jitters will prevail over... Read More →

Will the British economy see any sizable change under a new prime minister? We think not. This episode also looks at China possibly gatekeeping homegrown AI tools, the S&P index threatening a downgrade for Indonesia stocks, and the IMF’s odd... Read More →

What sets apart the oversubscribed SpaceX listing from IPOs all over the world? We think much of it is hype more than quality, which is an emerging trend among stock markets. This episode also looks at the Japanese yen trading... Read More →

Oil prices are back to pre-conflict levels amid good progress on US-Iran negotiations, yet financial markets and household lifestyles did not get a reset from the high costs the war brought on. We explore what’s next after high fuel prices,... Read More →

A hawkish US Federal Reserve is out to fight high inflation, which we see fueling greater volatility for the rest of 2026. We also look at disappointing consumption data in China, discuss expectations of faster gold accumulation by central banks,... Read More →

The European Central Bank raised interest rates today – a move we do not agree with, as this will kill any remaining chance of a growth rebound for the region.

Chinese equities are becoming more attractive among global investors and family offices. At home, however, the state is cracking down on outbound equity investments. This episode, we also raise concern about Japan’s new debt for continued oil price subsidies and... Read More →