These dynamics have become increasingly clear in the past couple of months. "Thailand has recently joined Singapore in outright CPI (consumer price index) deflation; Korea, excluding the one-off tobacco price hike, is very close to deflation, as is Taiwan. Most other countries are facing low-flation or steep declines in inflation," he said, citing India and Indonesia. Meanwhile, economic powerhouse China, a key source of demand for smaller economies in the region, started the year on a sluggish note. The country's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data for January signaled the manufacturing sector is once again ... (full story)