It is well known that the actual supply of climate finance is well below the evident requirements, both for mitigation and adaptation. There is some talk of how the rich countries that promised $100 billion annually for the developing world…
Asset price inflation has never worried analysts and policymakers as much as inflation in the prices of goods and services. And among assets, inflation in the price of gold has been the least disconcerting because of the faith that its…
Despite strong opposition in Congress, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has launched an ambitious industrial policy aimed at boosting renewable-energy capacity and expanding domestic defense capabilities. But sky-high interest rates and fiscal constraints risk putting these objectives out…
The Union government seems set to launch a new round of banking policy liberalisation. Among the pointers is a recent statement made by the Finance Minister that “India needs a lot of big, world-class banks” and that a strategy to…
Developed country bond markets are behaving oddly. Government bond prices are falling because holders are leaning towards offloading the debt instruments, and new buyers are more circumspect. Given that government bonds promise to make payments that are a fixed proportion…
With the short-term, frenzied interest that accompanies annual budget presentations in India having ended, it is time to raise issues that were largely ignored in the debate. Prime among them is the question as to how much or how little…
July brought into the open one more alleged scandal in India’s financial markets. While speculation around the actions that constitute the “scandal” has been rife for some time, the story went viral when India’s market regulator, the Securities and Exchange…
India’s banking sector appears poised for a structural shift, entering a new era after one defined by the rise of “new” private banks such as Global Trust Bank and Yes Bank. In what could prove to be a new milestone,…
Advocates of neoliberal financial policies still argue that the post-1991 licensing of the so-called new generation private banks was a major step in enhancing competition and spurring “innovation” in the banking space. This position is maintained despite a raft of…
There is a sense of panic gripping financial markets in India. The immediate causes are a combined slide of indices of stock markets and of the rupee vis-à-vis the US dollar. For market players accustomed to what has been an…
