Some unease is brewing in Asia this time around: we discuss the planned consumption stimulus in Indonesia, a rumbling crisis for the Philippine peso, and more Chinese firms uprooting to Singapore. Meanwhile, we also look at a planned early exit for ECB President Christine Lagarde.

Timestamp:

(00:00) - Episode rundown

(00:18) - Intro

(00:46) - Quick updates

(02:07) - Q1 consumption stimulus plan for Indonesia

(09:17) - How the Philippine central bank can defend the peso

(15:43) - More Chinese firms expanding to Singapore

(21:32) - Early leadership change at the European Central Bank

(24:20) - Our global forecast

Markets rallied after Prime Minister Takaichi’s Liberal party dominated Japan’s lower house election, but we stay wary about bold fiscal expansions without sustainable funding. We also look at China getting ahead in the global chips race, US fast food giants feeling the pinch, and confirm a global shift away from US investments in 2026.

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Start

(00:29) - Quick updates

(03:26) - The latest on global markets

(04:24) - Markets celebrate Japan's election outcome

(12:47) - China joins the microchip race

(17:08) - Fast food chains in the US feeling the pinch

(22:37) - Takeaways from Stockholm's TechArena Investor Day

(29:01) - Our global forecast

In this episode, we observe silver and gold prices plunge over the past week while China stocks saw a deep one-day slide. Though worrisome, we argue that these declines should not trigger panic among investors. We also weigh expectations regarding Japan’s snap election.

Time stamps:

00:00 - Start

00:30 - Quick updates

02:49 - The latest on global markets

03:51 - Upcoming snap election in Japan

09:02 - Sharp drop in China stocks

14:51 - Silver, gold, and our views on other asset classes

26:20 - Our global forecast

Trump’s wild rhetoric has claimed new victims: the US dollar, which suffered a continuing slide against the yen; and consumer confidence that has plunged to a 12-year low. This bolsters our forecast of a 10% slide for the dollar this 2026. For Asia, we echo red flags raised regarding Indonesian stocks and draw optimism from new India-EU and China-Canada trade deals.

Time stamps:

00:00 - Start

00:30 - Quick updates

02:32 - The latest on global markets

03:46 - Corporate governance issues hounding listed Indonesian firms

10:18 - New trade deals in Asia

15:47 - Waning American consumer confidence

20:42 - US dollar slide

26:56 - Our global forecast

Trump is pushing the markets to new limits as he threatens a renewed tariff war with the EU over his quest to acquire Greenland -- an attempt that would make life harder for investors and little gains for the US. We also look at debt-heavy Japan’s plan to cut taxes on food, rising doubts about the Indonesian central bank’s independence, and our forecast for a 10% drop for the dollar this year.

Time stamps:

00:00 - Start

00:29 - Quick updates

02:14 - The latest on global markets

03:19 - Japan's Prime Minister to remove food consumption tax

10:30 - Indonesian president's pick for central bank deputy governor

17:00 - US vs EU on Greenland

24:49 - The falling US dollar

26:17 - Our global forecast

Trump vows to raise public spending on defence but demands defence companies to temper dividend payouts in favour of reinvesting to raise production, and we explain why this is unhealthy. This episode, we also look at the escalating attack on the US Fed’s independence, attempts to raise listing activity in ASEAN, and the attitude of large family offices towards AI investments.

Time stamps:

00:00 - Start

00:55 - Quick updates

02:06 - The latest on global markets

03:02 - Stock market reforms for ASEAN

08:49 - Continuing clash between Trump and the US Fed

13:48 - Trump's hold on US defence companies

18:41 - Family offices survey: 2026 trends and preferred investments

27:08 - Our global forecast

Big shifts headline the new year. In our maiden episode for 2026, we look at cost of living pains in the US and Europe against a fast-growing middle class in Asia, the latter fueled by high economic growth. We explain why markets appear to shrug off Trump’s takeover of Venezuelan oil assets, and share an opposing view regarding consensus optimism on US stocks.

Time stamp:

00:00 - Start

00:54 - Quick updates

02:13 - The latest on global markets

03:27 - India, Vietnam racing ahead in global growth

11:11 - Megatrends: Rising cost of living and declining labour productivity

22:50 - Venezuelan oil and global supply

26:43 - Path of US stocks in 2026

30:09 - Our global forecast

The German government wants to attract private capital with a EUR 130 billion investment fund, but we disagree with this strategy. On our last episode for 2025, we take the latest US jobs report as another confirmation of the economy’s decline, review the IPO pop of Chinese chipmakers, and set our market forecasts for 2026.

We are at the second to the last episode of this year. This time, we observe the US dollar was on a losing streak in 2025, and we expect this to persist into the new year amid heightened uncertainty in Wall Street. Elsewhere, we look at the 60% rally of Vietnamese stocks, a looming growth forecast upgrade for the Eurozone, and a name check for the next Fed chair.

Financial markets will face greater volatility in 2026, and we think it will be more challenging for investors. We look at what’s ahead for US and Japan in this episode, as well as India’s record IPOs and China’s dominance in the export of gas-powered cars.