Observability and Social Interactions in Consumption

How much is international trade costing Americans jobs? It turns out, not much.  A major objection by protectionists is that international trade with other countries, especially low-wage countries, will undermine American workers. As a consequence, there will be a “giant sucking sound” (to use Ross Perot’s phrasing) as jobs are pulled from the United States…

Asian shares slump on chipmaker drag, bonds cheer cooler inflation

DBS economists Radhika Rao and Mo Ji expect the Bank of Korea (BoK) to raise its base rate to 2.75% from 2.50% in July, citing persistent CPI inflation above 3% and resilient growth. They highlight robust exports and investment linked to the AI (Artificial intelligence) boom and note that Korean Won weakness and portfolio outflows…

DBS economists Radhika Rao and Mo Ji forecast Singapore’s advance 2Q26 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth at 5.8% year-on-year and 1.5% quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted, slightly below 1Q26 but still resilient. They cite strong manufacturing and wholesale trade on AI-related electronics demand, robust modern services and construction, and expect non-oil domestic exports to post a fourth…