While Trump´s trade war is threatening to escalate (China reacted to Trump´s import tariffs by coming with an own list of import tariffs on U.S. exports, which was quickly followed up by Trump threatening to impose even more tariffs on Chinese imports), we can observe some interesting trends on credit markets. Yes, the yield curve is flattening even further. No, the long-term rate is not on the rise (contrary to what many analysts have been saying for the past three or four years). Yet, this

In 2007, the world economy began to show signs of an impending downturn. At the beginning of March 2008, the Federal Reserve was forced to rescue the corporate bank Bear Stearns. Suddenly, the crisis became an undeniable fact, even among the most optimistic among us. That very same week, gold prices rose to over $1,000 dollar per troy ounce. The recession of 2008 began to gain in strength. The banking system came close to a complete collapse. On Monday September 15, 2008, the crisis reached a

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China recently announced its plans to scrap the two-term limit on its presidency, which would mean that Chinese president Xi Jinping can continue in power after the end of his second term in 2022. This news was largely frowned upon by the Western world and is often explained as a step toward an increasingly totalitarian state. But is this a bad development? Or are these plans understandable from a Chinese perspective?

From a Western democratic point of view, it is almost self-evident that there is a recurring and constant shift of power and that the voter can exercise his or her democratic vote during such shifts. Yet in Chinese culture, there typically exists a strong government that sets a course for the country. As such, the Communist