Monthly archive

Citing the data of the latest Singapore Index of Inflation Expections released by SMU, which showed that Singapore consumers are expecting a higher rate of inflation compared to a quarter ago, the editor noted a few Government initiatives implemented to curb inflation, such as MAS' policy of appreciating the Singapore dollar, encouraging firms to increase productivity, and giving financial assistance to the low-income group. The editor felt that besides relying on the usual currency appreciating policies, the relevant authorities should also take another look at the causes of the inflation.

Speaking at a public lecture on 7 November at SMU, Nobel-winning economist Paul Krugman said that President Obama needs to stand firm on the looming "fiscal cliff" issue of the United States. Scheduled to take effect in January, the cliff is a package of tax increases and spending cuts that will reduce the country's huge fiscal deficit but which would also suck billions of dollars out of the world's biggest economy.

 

Professor Paul Krugman (left) and Professor Jun Yu (Director, Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics) during the Question & Answer Session.

 

On US election day, Professor Paul Krugman admitted that the imminent announcement of the election result might be a slight distraction for everyone, himself included, when he spoke at SMU’s Mochtar Riady Auditorium on 7 October. However, the audience gave their full attention to his engaging delivery of the lecture entitled “Global Economic Outlook – Preventing the next crisis”, and Prof Krugman offered some timely economic advice for whoever won the election.

Professor Krugman received the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2008 for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity in the fields of international and regional economics. He is also professor of economics at Princeton University, a regular Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, was awarded the American Economic Association’s John Bates Clark medal for his work on international trade and is the author of more than twenty books.

After a stimulating hour, which was full of challenging ideas and opinions, Professor Jun Yu, Director of the Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics (SKBI), invited questions from the audience and the viewers who had been watching the webcast. There were queues at the microphones in the auditorium and a long list of additional questions were sent in my phone text messaging. Professor Krugman gave insightful answers to several searching questions, until he was beaten by the clock when the allocated time was up.

The lecture was organised by the Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics (SKBI) which seeks to pioneer and promote the study of financial economics and financial econometrics in areas of strategic relevance to Singapore's economy and the economies of the region.

Video News

At the SMU Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics Conference held last week, Princeton University Professor of Economics and Finance Harrison Hong highlighted that collateralised debt obligations or CDOs may be the solution to China's lack of credit to the small and medium-sized companies. The other three presenters at the conference were DBS Private Bank Chief Investment Officer Lim Say Boon, Lombard Odier Head Vincent Duhamel and Standard Chartered Bank Global Head of Investment Advisory and Strategy Alexis Calla. The consensus among the three was that there is higher volatility in the market, higher correlation among the various asset classes, and market cycles have grown shorter. They also agreed that the rise of Asia would continue.