China's Debt Bomb

Published on Sep 8, 2012 by Luke Hunt

China’s massive bank financed stimulus was intended to keep the economy moving. It may instead lead to economic disaster.Financial collapses may have different immediate triggers, but they all originate from the same cause: an explosion of credit.  This iron law of financial calamityshould make us very worried about the consequences of easy credit in China in recent years.  From the beginning of 2009 to the end of June this year, Chinese banks have issued roughly 35 trillion yuan ($5.4 trillion) in new loans, equal to 73 percent of China’s GDP in 2011. About two-thirds of these loans were made in 2009 and 2010, as part of Beijing’s stimulus package.  Unlike deficit-financed stimulus packages in the West, China’s colossal stimulus package....

Malaysia to Open its Books

Published on Apr 27, 2012 by Luke Hunt

Burma has won much of the international spot light over the past six months for its attempts to introduce political and economic reform. Just slightly further afield, Malaysia has also instigated its own reforms, but with much less fan fare.These included the repeal of the Internal Security Act, which allowed for detention without trial and laws governing the press and freedom of assembly. Now, the Malaysian government of Prime Minister Najib Razak has agreed to open its financial sector for a review by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..