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Published daily by the Lowy Institute

  • 12 May 2026
    • Global Economy

    Economic forecasts have never been more prominent – or less reliable

    David Nellor
    Predictions are losing authority and the institutions that produce them are only beginning to adapt.
  • 20 Apr 2026
    • Asean
    • China
    • India
    • Global Economy
    • Trade

    India cautiously unlocks Chinese investment after years of resistance

    Shanthie Mariet D’Souza
    Relaxed foreign direct investment rules will test whether New Delhi can draw Chinese capital away from Southeast Asia.
  • 2 Apr 2026
    • Australia
    • Global Economy

    The sovereign citizen challenge

    Lydia Khalil
    One outlaw fugitive draws attention to a bigger problem.
  • 17 Mar 2026
    • Asia
    • Global Economy
    • Energy
    • Trade

    Beware the long reach of the Iran war in Asia’s food systems

    Robert Walker
    Disruption to fertiliser supply could lock in a food price hike across South and Southeast Asia.
  • 17 Mar 2026
    • Japan
    • Global Economy
    • Trade
    • United States

    Behind Japan’s US investment pledge, a China problem

    Henry Storey
    Structural economic forces – not solely US strong-arming – explain Japan’s growing interest in America.
  • 11 Mar 2026
    • Indonesia
    • Global Economy

    Indonesia’s bet on economic self-reliance

    Retno Maruti
    From food self-sufficiency to resource processing, Jakarta is building strategic capability in an uncertain era.
  • 10 Mar 2026
    • Aid & Development
    • Global Economy
    • Energy
    • Trade
    • Iran

    The economic fallout of the Iran war for Indo-Pacific developing countries

    Roland Rajah
    The Iran war isn’t just a Middle East crisis.
  • 10 Mar 2026
    • Global Economy

    SWIFT and CIPS: Finance as the new global battleground

    Pascal vander Straeten
    Capital flows, payment systems and reserve currencies are now instruments of state power.
  • 9 Mar 2026
    • Aid & Development
    • Bangladesh
    • Indonesia
    • Nepal
    • Global Economy

    China’s surplus and Western rules are strangling Asian industry

    Nischal Dhungel
    Developing nations are being squeezed between a Western-imposed regulatory ceiling and a China-induced industrial floor.
  • 23 Feb 2026
    • Indonesia
    • Global Economy
    • Sustainability

    Freeport’s Papua mine deal buys time

    Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara , Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat
    The harder test will be downstreaming, decarbonisation and Papuan equity.
  • 19 Feb 2026
    • China
    • Europe
    • Global Economy
    • Trade

    European industry faces an existential China challenge

    Henry Storey
    Exports will continue to be the linchpin of Chinese prosperity. This is not good for the global economy.
  • 18 Feb 2026
    • Asean
    • Australia
    • Global Economy

    To succeed in Southeast Asia, Australia must balance security and trade

    Hunter Marston
    Australia ranks second in defence networks but ninth in economic capability – and the region has noticed.
  • 10 Feb 2026
    • Indonesia
    • Philippines
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam
    • Global Economy
    • Debt
    • Technology

    What Southeast Asia’s platform-based credit boom doesn’t show

    Hanif Santoso
    Automated lending creates exposure faster than traditional risk metrics can detect it.
  • 5 Feb 2026
    • China
    • Australia
    • Global Economy
    • The Americas

    Up the canal without a paddle: The lessons from Panama for Australia

    Carolin Kautz
    A case study in the costs of being seen to cross China.
  • 4 Feb 2026
    • Global Economy
    • Technology

    What to ask when choosing a career in the age of AI

    Niusha Shafiabady
    How societies adapt to technological change will be an important marker of national power.
  • 3 Feb 2026
    • Global Economy
    • United States

    The hidden cost of central bank independence

    Srijan Shukla
    Behind the drama playing out over the US Federal Reserve lies a story about compromises made in every Western economy.
  • 19 Jan 2026
    • China
    • Vietnam
    • Global Economy
    • Trade

    Yes, Vietnam really is winning the trade wars

    Roland Rajah
    Higher exports are delivering real gains, alongside rerouted Chinese production.
  • 19 Jan 2026
    • China
    • Russia
    • Global Economy
    • Trade

    The decline of sanctions

    Imran Khalid
    A once useful policy instrument is being undermined by evasion and a crisis of legitimacy
  • 15 Jan 2026
    • Global Economy
    • Trade

    Tariffs: Why Oxford students are more protectionist than their professors

    Aylon Berger
    A classroom discussion reveals just how far the economic consensus has shifted.
  • 14 Jan 2026
    • Global Economy
    • United States

    The Fed digs in its heels

    John Edwards
    Jay Powell has demonstrated that he is no pushover, and that central bank independence remains.
  • 12 Jan 2026
    • Global Economy

    The US has finally paid its WTO fees. Now what?

    Jenny Gordon
    Proposed US reforms to the World Trade Organization’s rules are designed to support the Trump administration’s approach to trade
  • 19 Dec 2025
    • Defence & Security
    • Global Economy

    A new era for political risk insurance

    Matthew Newman
    So you want to insure your business against the risks of war? It may not be as farfetched as you think.
  • 17 Dec 2025
    • Global Economy

    Two new books on the future of globalisation

    Stephen Grenville
    Globalisation has always had ups and downs, and has never had clear public support. But trade finds a way.
  • 16 Dec 2025
    • India
    • Global Economy
    • Trade

    India’s economic reforms: Domestic resilience to reshape global standing

    Pratyush Paras Sarma
    Labour codes, tax cuts and GST reforms position India for a new era of growth and international influence.
  • 15 Dec 2025
    • Europe
    • Global Economy
    • Global Issues
    • United States

    Observers at the collapse

    Elliot Stein
    The liberal international settlement is crumbling, but social democrats haven’t found an answer for what comes next.
  • 10 Dec 2025
    • China
    • Indonesia
    • Global Economy

    China raises the cost of Indonesia’s neutrality

    Aniello Iannone
    Far from mere choreography, Beijing is shaping Jakarta’s growth agenda to suit its future core interests.
  • 5 Dec 2025
    • China
    • Global Economy

    Fighting China’s subsidies means copying China’s economic model

    Srijan Shukla
    Rather than just raising trade barriers, countries should predict where Chinese subsidies will move next to compete there.
  • 26 Nov 2025
    • Global Economy
    • Technology
    • Pacific Islands

    Stablecoins for a universal basic income: The Pacific Islands model

    Monique Taylor
    Digital payment systems are emerging as a substitute for inadequate regional banking infrastructure.
  • 25 Nov 2025
    • Asia
    • Asean
    • China
    • Indonesia
    • Malaysia
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam
    • Global Economy
    • Trade
    • United States

    Southeast Asian manufacturing: No longer immune from geopolitics

    Apoorba Banerjee
    The region’s industrial sector must adapt in a new climate of supply-chain weaponisation.
  • 24 Nov 2025
    • Global Economy
    • Technology

    AI didn’t fire you. The board did

    Niusha Shafiabady
    From Silicon Valley to Shanghai, the new excuse for redundancy has ripple effects everywhere.
  • 18 Nov 2025
    • Global Economy
    • BRICS

    A reality check for BRICS and the lofty dedollarisation agenda

    Shanthie Mariet D’Souza
    Local currency deals are growing, but a unified challenge to dollar hegemony remains a distant dream.
  • 31 Oct 2025
    • Asean
    • Global Economy
    • Climate change
    • Coronavirus
    • Diplomacy
    • Technology

    Resilience diplomacy: The quiet contest shaping the Indo-Pacific

    Shameek Godara
    For middle powers, the ability to help partners withstand shocks may prove more valuable than raw strength.
  • 22 Oct 2025
    • Asia
    • Australia
    • Europe
    • Global Economy
    • Diplomacy
    • The Americas

    Geopolitics and making sense of the NEWS: North, East, West, South

    Abhinandan Kumar
    More than geography, the coordinates of a state are borne of ideology, history and power perceptions.
  • 21 Oct 2025
    • China
    • Europe
    • Global Economy
    • Technology

    What a chipmaker in the Netherlands can tell Australia about its commercial relations with China

    Carolin Kautz
    Commercial disputes with China can escalate quickly – and apparently stable ties can be quickly upended.
  • 9 Oct 2025
    • Global Economy
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability

    Sustainability matters when economic shocks hit

    Adam Arian
    New global evidence shows responsible business is risk insurance.
  • 8 Oct 2025
    • Asia
    • Indonesia
    • Europe
    • Global Economy
    • Trade
    • WTO

    Europe notches an early win in Indonesian free trade deal

    Henry Storey
    EU trade with Southeast Asia has been undercooked, but a recent agreement augurs well for others in the pipeline.
  • 30 Sep 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Global Economy
    • Technology

    Indonesia’s SupTech experiment offers lessons for emerging markets

    Hanif Santoso
    With consumer credit booming, AI-driven oversight could help safeguard the economy.
  • 26 Sep 2025
    • Global Economy
    • G20
    • Trade
    • WTO
    • Global Issues
    • Climate change
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • Space exploration
    • United Nations

    Why we need international institutions…

    Jenny Gordon
    …and how to rebuild them in an era of great power competition.
  • 12 Sep 2025
    • Global Economy

    Stablecoins for remittances? A solution in search of a problem

    Stephen Grenville
    Despite the value proposition of stablecoins, the ability to convert into useable currency remains the biggest hurdle.
  • 3 Sep 2025
    • Global Economy

    A world without an economic hegemon

    Stephen Grenville
    What happens to the global economy when Washington no longer makes, and enforces, the rules-based order?
  • 28 Aug 2025
    • Global Economy
    • Technology
    • Public Opinion

    Australia’s stablecoin opportunity in the Pacific

    Monique Taylor
    Digital dollar tokens could revolutionise regional remittances, but only if Canberra helps shape a regulatory framework to dodge the scams.
  • 11 Aug 2025
    • China
    • Global Economy
    • United States

    China and America in a stablecoin race that could reshape global finance

    Evan Freidin
    Competing visions for digital currency regulation reveal broader financial ambitions.
  • 7 Aug 2025
    • China
    • Global Economy
    • Trade

    Too much of a good thing: Will China finally commit to solving overcapacity?

    Henry Storey
    Facing an addiction to manufacturing, Beijing’s rhetoric will need to be matched by deep structural and political reforms.
  • 6 Aug 2025
    • Global Economy
    • United States

    Battle of the currencies: The dollar versus digital

    Stephen Grenville
    Despite a plethora of alternative offerings – from cryptocurrency to stablecoins – nothing delivers quite like the greenback.
  • 28 Jul 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Global Economy
    • Trade

    Indonesia at a discount

    Virdika Rizky Utama
    In a world portrayed as multipolar, Southeast Asia’s largest economy remains bound to the same unipolar logic of coercive economics.
  • 30 Jun 2025
    • Asean
    • Global Economy
    • Technology

    QR payments: The ASEAN way

    Hilman Palaon
    Southeast Asia is leapfrogging global leaders and setting the new standard for digital payments.
  • 12 Jun 2025
    • China
    • Global Economy
    • United States

    China banks big wins as Trump withdraws from global aid game

    Robert Wihtol
    By abandoning climate finance and health initiatives, the United States is creating unprecedented opportunities for Chinese-led multilateral banks.
  • 4 Jun 2025
    • China
    • Global Economy
    • Trade
    • United States

    Global trade: Why China can’t (and won’t) come to the rescue

    Henry Storey
    Those looking for relief from US tariffs will run up against China’s mercantilism and structurally weak demand.
  • 2 Jun 2025
    • Global Economy
    • Trade
    • United States

    Trump and the art of the (bad faith) deal

    Huw McKay
    After Liberation Day, evidence is mounting that many US trade negotiations are far from good faith.
  • 19 May 2025
    • Global Economy
    • Debt
    • United States

    The US dollar is everyone's problem

    Stephen Grenville
    A new book offers a chance to look back at the record of a distinguished economist.
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