Search

A week just spent in the glittering, throbbing city-state metropolis that is Hong Kong, is a reminder that there is a lot more to this place than its stunning night-time skyline. Rolls Royce cars and Ferraris adorn its streets, perhaps to an uncomfortable degree from an egalitarian Kiwi perspective, yet labour-intensive, bespoke suits are still much cheaper than in New Zealand. Read more

The elections in the state of Saxony a couple of weeks ago mark a historic shift in Germany’s political landscape. The liberal, business-friendly Free Democrat Party got kicked out of parliament, having lost two thirds of their previous voters and being left with only 3.8 percent of the vote. Read more

In last week’s Insights, Oliver Hartwich talked about the dismal science but did not note the origins of the term. Economics came to be known as the dismal science because, during the mid-1800s, they worked with the Christian philanthropists of Exeter Hall to call for an end to British accommodation of foreign slavery. Read more

Allegedly economics is the ‘dismal science’. Indeed, if you believe the wife of one of the economists in our team, you should avoid the company of economists like the plague. Read more

It is an utterly ironic situation for Europe. Every bit of bad news for its economies is good news for asset markets. Read more

Adam Smith explained how the division of labour is limited by the extent of the market. When we have more people with whom to trade, we can all better specialise in our areas of comparative advantage. Read more

Last week I wrote that the euro crisis was not over -- far from it (The calm before the eurozone storm, 14 August 2014). However, having just read the latest article by Wolfgang Münchau, a fellow eurozone commentator and Financial Times columnist, I have to agree with his suggestion that we should no longer call it the euro 'crisis'. Read more

Democracy is a very fine thing, yet is worth dying for, and it is humbling to think of all those who have. Yet general election campaigns do not bring the populace's best instincts to the fore. Read more