When global reverts to regional

With globalisation under pressure, Samy Chaar, strategist at Lombard Odier Investment Management, asks if a new mantra of regionalisation and non-dollar currency trading could become the norm

With globalisation under pressure, Samy Chaar, strategist at Lombard Odier, asks if a new mantra of regionalisation and non-dollar currency trading could become the norm

Global rebalancing has not just been a fancy economic concept: it has actually happened, to quite a remarkable extent, over the past few years. Gone are the large leverage-financed deficits in the West, and mirroring large surpluses in the emerging bloc. Developed economies have progressively shifted to more production, and emerging economies to greater domestic demand, resulting in a period of contained world growth. The implications reside in the fact other important currencies will gain in importance, while a dependency on the US dollar will lessen, although admittedly it will still b...