Why financial markets matter
A well-developed financial system comprising dynamic capital markets and a robust banking sector is considered a critical driver of investment, productivity, and sustainable economic growth. Here, I discuss how the…
A volatile calm – the paradox of 2016 financial markets
Traditional measures of volatility at historic lows and Wall Street stocks at new record highs went hand-in-hand in 2016 with traders fretting about bouts of wild stock-price swings and currency…
Disciplining international financial markets
KEY European leaders who had been campaigning for a new regulatory body to monitor international finance but could not clinch a favourable decision at the G-20 summit of November 15…
Circular debt debacle: financial fixes cannot solve the problem
The much-hyped plan to reduce Pakistan’s power sector circular debt by a staggering Rs1.3 trillion has hit an all-too-predictable obstacle: Chinese independent power producers (IPPs) are balking at waiving late…
Even as markets rally, Trump’s policymaking causes market angst
As Wall Street puts April’s tariff shakeout in the rearview mirror and indexes set record highs, investors remain wary of US President Donald Trump’s rapid-fire, sometimes chaotic policymaking process and…
Reimagining Pakistan’s financial architecture
Imagine the year 1624. The world has not yet imagined New York, let alone the Stock Exchange that would one day shape global finance. The Industrial Revolution is still more…
Next up for markets: A crisis of confidence in the dollar
In times of market panic investors tend to rush to the safety of the dollar, but when stocks swooned in response to US tariffs this week, they ran away from…
Carbon markets with a gendered lens
Carbon markets are emerging as an essential financial mechanism in the global effort to combat climate change. By assigning a monetary value to carbon emissions, these markets incentivise emission reductions…
For Musk’s Starlink, India approval could unlock emerging markets
As Starlink nears regulatory approval in India for satellite broadband services, analysts say a victory there could pave a road into more emerging markets and boost the company’s ambitions to…
Markets wrestle with Trump’s unconventional debt ideas
Investors are weighing whether Donald Trump might turn to unconventional ideas to try to bring the ballooning US debt under control, after the president insisted he won’t cut popular health…
