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

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It’s the first week of the month, all eyes were on the PMIs and everything seemed pretty rosy in the garden, only Malaysia’s PMI reading was below the 50 boom-bust line. However, that could be deceiving. Take the US ISM as an example, one of the components is price paid, the prices paid index in May was 82.1 and it was slightly lower than the April reading of 84, both basically recorded high levels for prices paid in the United States.
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Korean export numbers came in at 52.3% YoY growth in May and the April figure was up 48% YoY, these are stunning numbers for a mature economy. Nevertheless, the export price number also came in at 41% YoY growth. Export prices, over the course of the last decade, haven't changed that dramatically from year to year but now they're totally out of whack.
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In Vietnam, the latest May CPI number was up 5.6% year on year, and that's an increase in inflation from around about the 3% mark during 2024 and 2025. Currently, the upper end of the central bank's inflation target is 4.5%, and there's only one thing you can do when inflation's running at 5.6%, raise interest rates.
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It’s the first week of the month, all eyes were on the PMIs and everything seemed pretty rosy in the garden, only Malaysia’s PMI reading was below the 50 boom-bust line. However, that could be deceiving. Take the US ISM as an example, one of the components is price paid, the prices paid index in May was 82.1 and it was slightly lower than the April reading of 84, both basically recorded high levels for prices paid in the United States.


Korean export numbers came in at 52.3% YoY growth in May and the April figure was up 48% YoY, these are stunning numbers for a mature economy. Nevertheless, the export price number also came in at 41% YoY growth. Export prices, over the course of the last decade, haven't changed that dramatically from year to year but now they're totally out of whack.


In Vietnam, the latest May CPI number was up 5.6% year on year, and that's an increase in inflation from around about the 3% mark during 2024 and 2025. Currently, the upper end of the central bank's inflation target is 4.5%, and there's only one thing you can do when inflation's running at 5.6%, raise interest rates.



Walker’s Weekly: Dr. Jim's Summary of Key Global Macro Developments - 5 June 2026