Opinion Pieces

The following opinion pieces were published in the CFO magazine of the Australian Financial Review on global financial issues:

Bring on the real European Union
The seeds of today’s crisis in Europe were sown two decades ago when the euro was created without fiscal union. The continent’s current debt dilemma provides the ideal opportunity to finish the job, writes Fariborz Moshirian.

Strength in numbers
While only moderate economic growth is expected in Europe, the US and Japan, other countries and regions face different challenges, among them currency appreciation and rising food prices, Fariborz Moshirian writes.

Rebalancing act gets tricky
The G20 is trying to address the deeper causes of the massive imbalances in the global economy, but actually making changes to fix this will be the hard part as so many countries grapple with challenges, writes Fariborz Moshirian.

Euro zone debt reforms too slow
Once again, markets have been spooked by Greece as it struggles to meet reform goals. The slow pace of European debt restructuring risks prolonged recession in some countries, Fariborz Moshirian says.

Greece dire, but EU improving
Greece plays a small part in the world economy, but a global crisis of confidence could ensue if it is allowed to default on its debt. So policymakers in Europe will want to avoid a financial meltdown at all costs, Fariborz Moshirian suggests.

Time ripe for global monetary system
The options available to governments in the US and Europe to turn around their economies are not clear cut but, whatever happens, now is the time to implement a global system of financial governance, Fariborz Moshirian says.

Lesson in unity As the G20 members coordinate answers to the challenges of the sovereign debt crisis, bank undercapitalisation and a two speed global economy, they would do well to look at their central banks, says Fariborz Moshirian

Time to plan for the inevitable
Australia must accept that simple forms of manufacturing cannot be sustained here and focus our efforts on promoting innovative manufacturing that best use our high skills base, Fariborz Moshirian argues.

Depends on your point of view
The imbalance in the global economy has created a complex picture, with national interests now fracturing the consensus on reform, Fariborz Moshirian writes, but there are good reasons to be optimistic.

Free trade, not currency wars
Removing barriers to free trade rather than focusing on the value of the Chinese yuan would be a better policy to reduce trade imbalances between the West and the East, Fariborz Moshirian writes.

Bring on the real European Union The seeds of today’s crisis in Europe were sown two decades ago when the euro was created without fiscal union. The continent’s current debt dilemma provides the ideal opportunity to finish the job, Fariborz Moshirian writes.