(Picture from Wix's library) Hello everyone. I hope that you and your loved ones are all safe and well protected. Before we start, let me share a piece of information regarding the virus that is currently shaking the world. This was directly taken from the World Health Organisation (WHO) website: “Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a new strain that was discovered in 2019 and has not been previously identified in humans. Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms,

(picture taken from Wix's library) Hello Everyone! Most Economists agree that the USD is still the reserve currency of choice in the world. Most Central Banks hold it and indeed need it. Most trade is still made using USD and that place has not yet been challenged significantly. However, I argue that the USD is not seen as “safe” as it once was. To be a safe haven currency (or asset), investors need to see it as a store of value in times of economic uncertainty. Gold seems to

(picture taken from Wix's library) Hello everyone! I’ve tried to put ahead as much of a clickbait title as I could (I’m not very good at this as you can tell)… if you are reading this it might just have worked!!!! Rest assured that I did this for your own good as this may prove a useful article to some of you guys. Just a little context for those that are too young (or uninterested) to know what I’m referring to. During the second World War (WWII), the UK was under siege by t

(Picture from Wix’s library) Hello everyone! As Hong-Kong is going through a turbulent time with protests and a constant high-stake political game between activists and the government of (mainland) China, we can expect the economy to be affected. Although this would be a really interesting article to write, I’m afraid I’ll have to wait around five or ten years to be able to tell you guys about the likely effect of such instability. These events can lead to important short-run

Hi everyone. I have something different from usual... again! A number of people outside my classes have asked me to help them understand inflation and wealth. After presenting the usual economic arguments on the topic, some of them were left unsatisfied. It is indeed difficult to understand these advanced topics without having seen basic macroeconomic models and definitions. It occurred to me that some Economists used to present new economic concepts with the help of an imagi

(picture from Wix's library) Hello everyone! There are so many things happening these days, from the developments on Brexit to the USA’s elections… not forgetting the Canadian delegate “storming out” of negotiations with the EU for a new trade deal. This month’s article relates to all these events: trade and protectionism During the great depression (early 1930s), many countries decided to tax and block a good number of imported products to help their own local producers. The

(picture from Wix's library) Hello Everyone! When discussing trade, Economists tend to use examples such as Hong Kong and Singapore to represent those that succeeded and North Korea to represent those that failed. Funnily enough, “trade” is often understood as economic exchanges with the west. We tend to have somewhat of an American or a European definition of what it means to be part of the international trade community. That made quite a lot of sense in the past since the m