The west dealt with its financial crisis by basically swapping treasuries for non performing loans. It allowed a wholesale transfer of problem debt to the public (taxpayers) balance sheet, funded by the issue of government debt which only the Fed (and some hostage buyers like commercial banks subject to enhanced capitalization requirements) were willing to

When markets rise, the media quickly approach bulls to interview and feature. When markets fall, they seek bears. In June, July this year all eyes were on Greece. Every bit of news about Greece was analyzed and scrutinized and markets reacted to these developments as if Greece was larger than the 2% it is of

Sovereign balance sheets are not well defined in particular because it is hard to define and quantify the assets of a country. The difficulty in quantifying a country’s assets can impact a country’s ability to raise debt especially in times of financial stress. One simple way of solving the definition problem is to create a

As Singapore turns 50 it and its government, the People’s Action Party, face a mid-life crisis. Support for the government fell to a historical low at the 2011 General Elections where a number of contentious issues emerged. What does the government have to address for the people of Singapore? High cost of living: Singapore remains

Singapore’s government has attempted to solve a labour shortage and economic growth problem by importing foreign labour and encouraging immigration. In the last election in 2011 the topic of immigration became a serious issue. Singaporean’s faced with overcrowding and competition for jobs diverted votes away from the PAP. In response, the PAP acquiesced and slowed