Sound Economies with Mel & Peter: 20 March 2025

Indonesia’s stock market crashed on 18 March over fears that the country’s fiscal house is in disarray under new spending priorities of the government. Meanwhile, Brazil revealed a plan to increase income tax exemptions while imposing a 10% tax on dividends from abroad, both aimed to raise additional revenues while boosting consumption. We compare these approaches to stimulate GDP growth with those taken by the US and Europe, the latter relying heavily on debt to boost activity.

“Sound Economies with Mel & Peter” is a weekly podcast show where our founding CEO Peter Lundgreen and Manila-based Chief Economist Mel Lopez discuss what’s happening in economies around the world and their views of the global financial markets.

Tune in to this episode on Spotify.