Currencies
When the Japanese yen recently hit its weakest level against the U.S. dollar in about 40 years, it triggered an alarm 10,000 kilometres away in Washington. It wasn’t just a problem for Japan’s policymakers, but also a problem for the Trump administration. That prompted the U.S. last week to take a rare step – the […]
... written on Aug 05 2026On May 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) – under Executive Order (E.O.) 13902 – designated three Iranian foreign currency exchange houses and their associated front companies as part of Economic Fury and Treasury’s ongoing efforts to disrupt the Iranian regime’s financial lifelines that sustain its war […]
... written on Jun 25 2026After our article suggesting Anwar Ibrahim should call Iran for a safe and free passage over the vital Strait of Hormuz rather than barking non-stop like a mad dog about RON95 and fuel subsidies, the prime minister finally made the call on March 26. A few days later, the Malaysian leader began his usual gloating […]
... written on Apr 10 2026Forget nuclear program – Iran might have found a more lethal weapon than nuclear. While closing the Strait of Hormuz to everyone appeared to be a brilliant plan, Tehran soon discovered such strategy also hurts friendly countries. So the Iranian regime began to modify its newly found economic weapon. Recently, some tankers stuck at the […]
... written on Apr 03 2026Kevin Warsh was not Donald Trump’s first choice. The U.S. president’s preferred candidate as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve was another Kevin – Kevin Hassett. But Hassett’s loyalty and close relationship with Trump ultimately morphed into his biggest liability. On Friday, Trump nominated Warsh, choosing a former Fed official who has aligned himself […]
... written on Feb 01 2026Before Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of Iran’s last Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, called on Iranians to rally against the regime at 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday (January 8 and 9), things were already falling apart in Iran. The current nationwide protest was not caused by a sudden economic meltdown or currency collapse. It […]
... written on Jan 14 2026Pahlavi was just 18 years old and in the U.S. training to be a jet fighter pilot when the revolution that ousted his father – Iran’s last Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi – unfolded in the 1979 Iran Revolution. After his father died in exile in Egypt in 1980, he declared himself the new Shah, but […]
... written on Jan 12 2026Donald Trump proudly told Americans that his tariffs would “Make America Great Again”, promising a manufacturing boom just like the post-World War II “Golden Age”(1948-1973). It really happens – in China. As the U.S. continues dreaming, Chinese industrial production broke records this year as its factories churned out more cars, machinery and chemicals than ever before. […]
... written on Dec 09 2025Every month, Rachel Tan, a 53-year-old Singaporean tutor, boards a bus across the 1-km (0.6 mile) causeway for a day trip to Malaysia’s southern state Johor, where she stocks up on groceries and treats herself to lunch and a film. Thanks to recent streamlined immigration procedures, she doesn’t need to flash her passport but a […]
... written on Oct 20 2025Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jung-Un were some of the authoritarian leaders Donald Trump admires. And there’s a reason why the U.S. president has shown greater respect for them than fellow democratic leaders from Western nations – the absolute power. Even though Trump says he’s not a dictator, he has hinted that dictatorships might […]
... written on Aug 28 2025
