Chief Economist, Aletheia Capital

Dr. Jim Walker

Jim Walker is the chief economist at Aletheia Analyst Network Limited, an independent research platform for the Asia Pacific region. Prior to joining Aletheia he was the founder and chief economist at Asianomics Group an economics and strategy research consultancy company formed in late 2007. 

Before establishing Asianomics he was the chief economist at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets. He joined CLSA in late 1991. Over the years Dr Jim achieved numerous ‘best economist’ rankings in the Asiamoney, Institutional Investor and Greenwich surveys of fund managers. In 1995 he wrote about the prospect of Asia being forced off its de facto dollar peg “within the next two-three years”. The Asian Crisis, precipitated by the Thai baht devaluation, began in July 1997.

In recent years he is best known for forecasting the US 2007 downturn and financial sector meltdown in his series of ‘Apocalypse’ reports. He remains deeply sceptical of the prevailing wisdom in central banks’ approach to monetary policy.

Over the years he has also developed an approach to analysing Asian economies based on profit and credit cycles where the importance of investment spending as the driver of economic activity is explained.

Early in his career he worked in his native Scotland as a research fellow at the Fraser of Allander Institute for Research on the Scottish Economy, and then at The Royal Bank of Scotland’s Edinburgh headquarters. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree and a doctorate in economics from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

Chief Economist

Independent and original Asian investment research

Aletheia Capital

Aletheia Capital (HK) Ltd. (previously known as Asianomics) combines the extensive knowledge of its experienced team with technology and regulatory changes to disrupt Global Markets business in Asia. The firm is completely independent with no conflicts of interest either on Investment Banking advisory or Capital Markets execution.

Macroeconomics

<ul><li>Most of the Asian PMIs were above 50 boom-bust line, except the Philippines and Malaysia which were slightly below 50. Asian trade figures also showed a good story especially Korea which recorded 84% YoY growth in exports. Everything looks rosy but is that really the case? </li><li>The stock markets are out of whack with reality. There is still loads of money around and given passive investment, when certain stocks go up, that passive investment keeps buying the winners and selling the rest. Hence the reason that 430 out of the 500 stocks in the S&amp;P this year are down year to date. </li><li>The government bond market is in competition now with the tech sector for raising funds. Governments/central banks can print money, but that would exacerbate the problem. Please realise that's not a solution, but a catastrophic failure if it begins to happen again.</li></ul>

Most of the Asian PMIs were above 50 boom-bust line, except the Philippines and Malaysia which were slightly below 50. Asian trade figures also showed a good story especially Korea which recorded 84% YoY growth in exports. Everything looks rosy but is that really the case? The stock markets are out of whack with reality. There is still loads of money around and given passive investment, when certain stocks go up, that passive investment keeps buying the winners and selling the rest. Hence the reason that 430 out of the 500 stocks in the S&amp;P this year are down year to date. The government bond market is in competition now with the tech sector for raising funds. Governments/central banks can print money, but that would exacerbate the problem. Please realise that's not a solution, but a catastrophic failure if it begins to happen again.

Walker’s Weekly: Dr. Jim's Summary of Key Global Macro Developments - 2 Oct 2026