Japan Economics Update BoJ will resume tightening cycle in December The Bank of Japan delivered no surprises when it kept its policy rate unchanged today and declared victory in its quest to lift inflation towards its 2% target. We expect the next rate hike to come in... 30th October 2026 · 3 mins read
Global Economics Update Japan’s yttrium shortage highlights global vulnerability Japan’s emerging yttrium shortage illustrates the broader vulnerability created by China’s dominance of rare earth supply. The immediate economic impact appears limited, but disruption could intensify... 22nd October 2026 · 4 mins read
Japan Economics Update Financial stability concerns won’t derail rate hikes While higher bond yields are creating valuation losses, higher interest rates are lifting banks’ lending margins. What’s more, higher rates are not creating major problems for insurance firms. The... 5th October 2026 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Update Asia: subsidies help absorb the oil price shock Fuel subsidies and price controls have stopped high oil prices from feeding into inflation across Asia’s largest economies. But this has not eliminated inflation concerns altogether and, in India and... 22nd September 2026 · 3 mins read
Japan Economics Update BoJ’s tightening cycle has much further to run The Bank of Japan accelerated its tightening cycle by lifting interest rates to a 31-year high of 1.25% today and we think it will tighten policy more rapidly than most anticipate over the coming... 18th September 2026 · 3 mins read
Japan Economics Update Energy subsidies contributing to larger budget deficit We now expect the price of Brent crude oil to remain high throughout this year, which means that fiscal measures to cap retail energy prices will cost an additional 0.6% of GDP this year. And with the... 15th September 2026 · 3 mins read
Japan Economics Update New fiscal strategy leaves many questions unanswered The surge in planned spending in the FY2027 budget largely reflects the government’s desire to reduce reliance on supplementary budgets but it’s still unclear how that will affect the overall fiscal... 1st September 2026 · 3 mins read
Japan Economics Update How could Japan respond to soaring bond yields? The recent increase in JGB yields has been driven by global rather than domestic factors and there are no signs that it is creating financial stress. The BoJ will accelerate its tightening cycle to... 1st September 2026 · 4 mins read
FX Markets Update Your questions on Japan’s markets answered The yen had weakened to a 40-year low against the dollar before FX intervention prompted a rebound last week, while the 10-year JGB yield is close to multi-year highs. This Update answers key client... 6th August 2026 · 5 mins read
FX Markets Update 2024-style carry trade unwind still appears unlikely While carry trade positioning appears to have increased over the past couple of years, we doubt the recent yen intervention alone will trigger a carry trade unwind and a rapid yen appreciation along... 5th August 2026 · 4 mins read
Japan Economics Update Ueda opens door to September BoJ rate hike In response to Governor Ueda’s hawkish comments, we’re bringing forward our forecast for the next rate hike from October to September. That would imply a marked acceleration in the Bank’s tightening... 31st July 2026 · 3 mins read
FX Markets Update Sixth(!) time the charm for the yen? Intervention in support of the yen may not work any better now than it has previously, but the persistence of the Japanese authorities suggests to us that the yen will remain around the 160 level this... 31st July 2026 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update AI is lifting Asia’s non-chip manufacturers too The global AI investment boom is delivering a bonanza to electronics manufacturers across Asia well beyond just chipmakers in Korea and Taiwan. 23rd July 2026 · 2 mins read
Global Economics Update What is the future of US tariffs? The “Section 122” global tariff imposed by the Trump administration after the Supreme Court struck down its IEEPA tariffs (including those from “Liberation Day”) in February will expire on Friday, to... 23rd July 2026 · 6 mins read
Global Economics Update Key lessons from the Iran war so far The Iran war has (already) lasted longer than we initially assumed in our base case but the disruption to energy markets and hit to the global economy have been more limited. This resilience will be... 21st July 2026 · 8 mins read
Global Economics Update What are the potential implications of Houthi attacks? Given reports of Houthi threats to close the Bab el-Mandeb passage to the Red Sea and to attack Saudi oil infrastructure, we are publishing an updated version of this note originally sent on 31st... 16th July 2026 · 4 mins read
