Warren Song

The No. 1 rule in capital markets is trust: before you can buy or sell securities, you have to have a price in mind. This price comes from research of the information available in the market.

A true developing country has an economy that has been in developing country status for decades, and will surely remain in that league for years to come. When a developing economy is viewed in the world as having no hope of achieving “advance economy” status for decades to come, or is called a “true developing country,” it means that the country has fundamental flaws in its political and legal system that cannot be fixed easily.

After World War II the world entered a period of relative peace and prosperity, enabling countries around the world to begin the process of rapid industrialization. Among the roughly 200 countries, fewer than 40 achieved developed country (International Monetary Fund standard) status.

As an integral part of the economy, Wall Street will never disappear. But with a terrible reputation for many years, especially since the Great Recession, the industry is at a critical moment: Wall Street worried that the scandals during the financial crisis would give rise to crushing government regulation—and eat into their ability to mint massive paydays.

South Korea is an unlikely competitor to mighty Japan: Its long history of farming and Confucian teachings suggest a more Taiwan-like society.

We often hear politicians talking about “national interests” to justify government decisions, especially in international affairs, to demonstrate that they are patriotic and righteous. Since this concept is so poorly defined and can be interpreted in almost any way you want, “national interests” can easily migrate into “patriotism” or “protecting citizens,” which was used by Russia’s Vladimir Putin to lay claim to Crimea.

With the ending of China’s two big political meetings (Political Consultative Conference on March 12 and the National People’s Congress on March 13), the time has come for big and difficult economic decisions concerning the exchange rate. The exchange rate for the yuan is an urgent issue and the Chinese authorities have to decide whether a one-time big depreciation or a gradual depreciation is in their interest. There’s no time to lose.

We forget that the reason we work so hard to achieve economic growth is to use the output to live a better life.

Since the last great American banker, New Yorker John Pierpont Morgan, saved the American financial industry in 1907, avoided a financial market panic, and trigged the creation of the omni-important Federal Reserve System, we have not seen another great banking hero emerge since. Instead, a century later, almost every major financial institution was involved in the subprime mortgage crisis scandal that came to light in 2008.