ASIA: China’s five major state-owned banks have adopted a slew of measures to ease the residential mortgage burden for individual borrowers affected by the COVID-19 epidemic.  These steps include postponing mortgage repayments, extending repayment periods, as well as deferring principal and interest repayments on housing loans, the banks told Xinhua. Bank of China has urged […]

ASIA: Indian shares fell for a third straight session on Thursday, as global sentiment soured on hawkish US Federal Reserve minutes, while investors looked forward to the Reserve Bank of India’s policy decision on Friday amid rising inflationary pressures. The NSE Nifty 50 index declined 0.6% to 17,692.70, and the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.5% […]

ASIA: Core consumer prices in Japan’s capital rose at the fastest pace in more than two years in March, propelled by energy costs that have hit a four-decade high following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The relentless uptrend in global commodity prices could ruin Japan’s fragile recovery from the pandemic, even as domestic COVID-19 infections wane […]

ASIA: Japan cannot avoid crafting a supplementary budget for fiscal 2022 as part of measures to mitigate the impact of rising prices on the economy, former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Sunday. His successor, Fumio Kishida, is reluctant to compile an additional budget at an early date as the new fiscal year just started this […]

ASIA: Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua called on Saturday for greater efforts to stabilize foreign trade amid a complex external environment, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said in March that China’s economy faced multiple challenges at home and abroad this year, including “huge” pressure from uncertainty over global trade and […]

QUESTION: Hi Martin, What do you think banks will do with mortgages if we continue experiencing high inflation and/or hyperinflation? Do you think we might be able to pay off a mortgage with gold if things get bad enough? Marc ANSWER: No! The contract is in dollars and that cannot be altered. There won’t be […]

ASIA: China’s factory activity slumped at the fastest pace in two years in March, a private sector PMI showed, as the fallout from the Ukraine crisis and resurgence in domestic coronavirus cases hit external and domestic demand. The outcome was in line with Thursday’s official data showing activity in Chinese manufacturing and services simultaneously contracted […]

QUESTION: Is there any hope for the future? Between war, digital currency, authoritarianism, and financial collapse, it doesn’t seem like there is much hope for our children. Please let us know what Socrates says, is everyone doomed? Is there anywhere our children can go to escape this madness? B ANSWER: Yes! I know this can […]

ASIA:   The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today: NIKKEI 225 decreased 205.82 points or -0.73% to 27,821.43 Shanghai decreased 14.39 points or -0.44% to 3,252.20 Hang Seng decreased 235.18 points or -1.06% to 21.996.85 ASX 200 decreased 14.90 points or -0.20% to 7,499.60 Kospi increased 10.91 points or 0.40% to 2,757.65 […]

ASIA:   The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today: NIKKEI 225 decreased 225.17 points or -0.80% to 28,027.25 Shanghai increased 62.66 points or 1.96% to 3,266.60 Hang Seng increased 304.40 points or 1.39% to 22.232.03 ASX 200 increased 50.20 points or 0.67% to 7,514.50 Kospi increased 5.67 points or 0.21% to 2,746.74 […]