Category Archives: Money

In the eighties, it was Aussie farmers. In 1998, it was Indonesian noodle makers. In 2008, it was Icelandic car-buyers and Chinese steelmakers. In 2010, it was Hungarian homeowners. In 2011-12, it’s Indian car-makers. Yep, foreign currency loan explosions are back. … Continue reading →

The buried lede in today’s news seems to be the rapid collapse of the Iranian rial. The official central bank peg is currently USDIRR 11,240, but the black-market rate has been slowly ticking higher for months – and in the last … Continue reading →

“…and then in October, it all suddenly… died.” The Aussie retail sector has been in dire straits lately. The economy is chugging along nicely – GDP growth is running in the mid-to-high 2s, inflation is in the mid-3s, and terms … Continue reading →

Unless you read the Straits Times (and my deepest sympathies if you do), Sunshine Empire might be the biggest ponzi scheme you’ve never heard of. Between 2003 and late 2007, the company took in more than $180 million from investors … Continue reading →

“The economy,” says Charlie Brooker in his year-in-review column for Vegan Socialist Daily, “is just a series of satirically huge numbers scrolling across the screen while a voiceover recites the words ‘brink … precipice … abyss … void … ‘ over … Continue reading →

Singapore has abruptly jacked up the buyer’s stamp duty on houses, in a desperate attempt to suppress skyrocketing residential prices: 10% on every house for all foreign buyers and companies; 3% for permanent residents buying a second or subsequent house; and 3% … Continue reading →

Steven Levitt, author of Freakonomics, gave a talk in Singapore last month – and he had some interesting things to say in the Q&A session about the country’s casino gambling policy. When asked by a member of the (mostly civil-servant-trainee) … Continue reading →

The good folks at the Perth Mint (don’t miss it if you’re ever in Perth) have just unveiled the world’s biggest gold coin – one tonne of solid 24-carat gold, valued at about $50 million USD. There’s been a bit of … Continue reading →