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Recent global macro data suggests that economic uncertainties have continued to rise. Numerous signs are there – June’s global manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to its lowest level since the second half of 2012. The PMI report further revealed that business optimism plunged to a record low, while new orders contracted at the fastest […]

In 1994’s Forrest Gump – arguably one of Hollywood’s most memorable films – Tom Hanks taught us how his momma wittily described life: it’s like “a box of chocolates.” He meant that life is so unpredictable that “you’ll never know what you’re gonna get.” Many moviegoers loved that phrase. Twenty-five years later, economists are learning

Let’s start with some good news. Malaysia’s headline gross domestic product (GDP) growth remained in mid-4% territory in the first quarter of 2019, exceeding expectations and can be considered respectable against the recent series of unfavourable global developments. Statistics show that domestically, consumers’ buying strength continued to support headline growth. Malaysians are still spending, helped

Malaysia’s equity market experienced an outflow of foreign capital to the tune of RM1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2019. The bond market was spared during this period, however, registering net foreign inflows for the first time since December 2018. But a spate of news relating to the possible exclusion of Malaysia from the

If you’ve watched the preview of Paul Krugman’s online classes, you would’ve noticed him stressing the fact that – contrary to common belief – economics is not about money. It is about people, and it ends up looking at how people behave, e.g. how people earn a living and how they spend their income. Unfortunately,

The employability of local graduates has always been a contentious issue in Malaysia. The fact that many of them are finding it hard to secure permanent jobs raises important questions: what can be effectively done to entice employers to hire them? What can these graduates do to send proper signals to the market about their

There has been overwhelming concern over China’s economy in recent times. This can’t be helped, given that the world’s second largest economy has been an important global growth contributor in the past several years. As a percentage of global growth, China contributed roughly 25%-30% in the past few years. Its dominance in the global economy

If you were a medical doctor who is trying to diagnose the health condition of a patient named ‘Global Economy’, you will frown when looking at his medical report. First, his body temperature is above normal. A couple of paracetamols every six hours would do, you might think. His blood pressure is also on the

With Brent crude oil prices dipping below USD60 per barrel in late-November, concerns over the possible impact of this phenomenon on the Malaysian economy have naturally emerged. For one thing, Malaysia’s economic performance has always been closely tied to crude oil price trends. Plunging prices in mid-2014 and in 2015 had caused growth to soften

As the government explained prior to tabling Budget 2019, this is not an ordinary Budget. Budget 2019 is meant to put Malaysia on a clean slate and move forward by removing some imbalances and excesses and strengthen the fundamentals of the economy.   As such, we can label it as ‘the new beginning’ for Malaysia’s