The dark shadow of a food crisis now looms over the world, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and the protracted war between Russia and Ukraine. While academia has yet to define “food crisis,” it generally refers to panic and market disorder, sharp declines in production, and rapid price…

There are two recent events linked to ASEAN that are rather significant. The first is ASEAN, and the United States convened the Special Summit in Washington D.C. from May 12 to 13 in 2022. The second is a high-profile delegation visit to the U.S. led by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham…

In China, the outcomes of the economic downturn are often inevitably reflected in finance. In April, some provinces of the country began announcing fiscal revenues and public expenditures. Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, downward economic pressure has increased. Superimposed on the consequences of the implementation of large-scale tax rebates and…

The latest financial data from the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) showed that at the end of April, the M2 balance was RMB 249.97 trillion, up 10.5% year on year, 0.8 percentage points higher than the end of last month, and 2.4 percentage points higher than the same period last…

According to the latest price data released, China’s consumer price index (CPI) rose by 2.1% in April from a year earlier, up for the third consecutive month. The CPI has surpassed 2% again since November last year. Meanwhile, China’s industrial producer (ex-factory price index) rose 8% year-on-year, down for the…

On May 9, the U.S. stock market appeared to slump after falling continuously for a week. On that day, the S&P 500 Index fell 3.2%, the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 4.3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2% to close at its lowest level since November 2020. The…

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) had recently voted to lift its key rate by 50 basis points, raising the federal funds rate to a range of 0.75% to 1%. The FOMC also decided to shrink its balance sheet by USD 47.5 billion a month starting June 1. The FOMC…

President Christine Lagarde of the European Central Bank (ECB) showed on May 11 that the central bank may cease its bond-buying stimulus program in the third quarter of this year and raise interest rates in the coming weeks to combat record-high inflation caused by rising commodity prices. Furthermore, she hinted…

Some recent videos could possibly indicate that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s health is experiencing some problems. There are speculations over his physical condition, especially in a video of him meeting with Sergei Shoigu, the Minister of Defence. During the meeting with Shoigu, Putin clutched the corners of a table with…