Now that the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) will accept new members, can the grouping pose a genuine challenge to the prevailing global-governance institutions?

We should never let rules of thumb override financial fundamentals, but there are times when fundamentals become quite hazy. Recent inflation data suggests that we are in such a period right now.

Until the BRICS countries can find a credible alternative for their own savings, the greenback's dominance will not really be in doubt.

The British pound's current gyrations point to some essential traits of currency markets. I am not sure what to make of Trussonomics.

The price of Bitcoin, the canonical cryptocurrency, is so volatile that it is almost impossible to imagine it becoming a reliable store of value or means of exchange.

November 2021 will mark the 20th anniversary of the BRIC acronym that I coined to capture the economic potential of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Many commentators will be revisiting the concept - so here are my own thoughts on the matter.

In April, I argued equity markets might continue to rally despite the collapse of the world economy. And so they have. But in my 40 years of observing and participating in financial markets, I've learned that August is always a month to watch.

Policymakers are coming to realise that it is neither wise nor feasible to rely constantly on central banks for economic-policy support. The case for shifting the burden from monetary to fiscal policy is becoming more apparent.

For most of the past decade, the growing spending power of China’s expanding middle class has fueled the global economy. Not so anymore.

The sustainability of global growth depends largely on the US and China. One hopes that someone close to Trump can turn him around before his policies derail the world's long-awaited recovery.

There is evidence to suggest that the uptick in global growth and developments in Saudi Arabia will push the price of oil as high as $80 in the coming year.

Global growth cannot tell you the best countries to invest in - but if 2011-2020 continues broadly as assumed, ERP is unlikely to stay at its current high.

If Africa could behave more together economically, by 2050, BRICs would become BRICA. Plus, the $A is more and more on my radar,

What Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda announced last week was quite dramatic. It is the first time I can remember Japanese policymakers truly and positively surprising markets.

How can a $22bn economy be the dominant global topic of conversation? Cyprus is the epicentre of strategic issues.

The talked-of Bank could have important implications for how economics and finance is changing.

Without some major shake-up, the Euro will fail. A monetary union between countries with no growth, rising unemployment and decreasing levels of trade with each other is just not credible.

Reform doesn't equate to austerity, as Italian voters have shown. US reform does not equate to austerity either.

When I transverse the latest data and policy issues, the prospects for so many countries are either worrying or exciting or perhaps both, depending on your state of mind.

I never quite expected to be asking this question. But at some point, the question is going to become very real.