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>August Asian PMIs were published earlier this week, most Asian countries were above the 50 boom-bust line with Singapore leading the way at 59. There were only two countries reading below 50, one was Indonesia and the other one was Hong Kong, the readings were 49.8 and 49.5 respectively. It appeared that everyone had a good summer.</li><li>Japanese industrial production was up 4.1% YoY, which was not a bad headline number and compares well with a lot of countries in the region and Europe. However, in absolute terms it took Japan industrial production back to 2023 levels. In other words, Japan is bumping along the bottom of where it's been in the last three years in terms of overall industrial production activity.</li><li>Philippines exports in July were up 10.8% YoY but imports went up 19.8% YoY at the same time. The worrying part is the trade deficit is now at $6 billion a month and international reserves are sitting at about $81 billion only. The numbers do not imply a crisis point at the moment, but the country surely is vulnerable.</li></ul>

August Asian PMIs were published earlier this week, most Asian countries were above the 50 boom-bust line with Singapore leading the way at 59. There were only two countries reading below 50, one was Indonesia and the other one was Hong Kong, the readings were 49.8 and 49.5 respectively. It appeared that everyone had a good summer.Japanese industrial production was up 4.1% YoY, which was not a bad headline number and compares well with a lot of countries in the region and Europe. However, in absolute terms it took Japan industrial production back to 2023 levels. In other words, Japan is bumping along the bottom of where it's been in the last three years in terms of overall industrial production activity.Philippines exports in July were up 10.8% YoY but imports went up 19.8% YoY at the same time. The worrying part is the trade deficit is now at $6 billion a month and international reserves are sitting at about $81 billion only. The numbers do not imply a crisis point at the moment, but the country surely is vulnerable.

Walker’s Weekly: Dr. Jim's Summary of Key Global Macro Developments - 4 Sep 2026