Last week’s warning from the International Energy Agency (IEA) that the surging cost of oil now represented a bigger risk for global growth than the European sovereign debt and banking crisis did not generate the publicity it deserved. Brent crude has jumped by 17% this year to USD 126 a barrel, essentially matching the high achieved a year ago; in...

There can be little question that the cycle has turned for the Aussie. In 2009 and 2010, it seemed as though the Australian currency could do no wrong. Last year, the AUD still attracted a great deal of buying interest from multiple sources, especially those who were concerned by the deliberate debasement of the major currencies by their respective central banks....

There are always winners in every crisis. In this instance, one of the big beneficiaries of Europe’s sovereign debt and banking debacle has been German house prices, which have been moving steadily higher over the past couple of years. Flush with deposits sent from Europe’s troubled south, financial institutions in the north have been desperate to lend to German households whose...