Bracing for a difficult 2019

Malaysian and Asian markets feel heat from slide of lira and weakening euro. (A woman sits beside a digital billboard giving updates on various currencies and the Turkish stock exchange in Istanbul yesterday. - AFP)

THE pressures keep piling even as emerging markets (EMs) take in more punches from increasing tariff turmoil, strong dollar and drying up of liquidity.

As though investors have not been sufficiently pummeled in the China markets, the brewing financial crisis in Turkey is causing risk version in EMs, and leading to Germany’s call for Turkey to seek help from the International Monetary Fund.