A team of our senior economists recently held a special online briefing all about the key economic themes which will shape 2024. The team discussed risks across developed and emerging economies, and outlined our views on how growth, inflation and …
21st November 2023
As the ECB, Bank of England and Fed end their tightening cycles, attention invariably turns to when rates could be cut. Group Chief Economist Neil Shearing explains why investors hoping for clues on timing from central bankers are going to be …
15th September 2023
The EU’s criticism of French fiscal policy is not in itself a major concern. But France’s debt-to-GDP ratio may well rise over time rather than declining as the government intends. The key problem is a very large primary deficit which the government plans …
Overview – Housing market activity is likely to recover from here, driven by falling mortgage rates. That said, they are set to remain high relative to recent history. Our view is that mortgage rates won’t drop below 6.0% before the end of the forecast, …
Overview – Surprisingly resilient demand, high inflation, and limited supply mean a severe drop in house prices will be avoided. With the peak in mortgage rates now behind us and the labour market in good shape, there is no clear trigger for another …
Brazil and Mexico will outperform others in the region this year, but that’s likely to flip on its head in 2024 as they slow – and by more than most expect – while the Andean economies recover. Rapid wage growth will keep inflation above target for some …
The economy’s third-quarter strength was not the start of a renewed acceleration and we continue to expect GDP growth to weaken. Regardless, resilient economic growth has not prevented a continued easing in wage and price inflation, and we still think the …
Spike in rates takes sales to fresh 13-year low Existing home sales fell sharply to a fresh 13-year low in October as the 8% peak in mortgage rates in the same month caused buyers and sellers to withdraw from the market. Mortgage applications for home …
Key insights from our new CE Climate Reporting Tools …
The fall in US Treasury yields has driven rebounds in the yen and renminbi against the US dollar, and we expect this trend to continue through at least the next year or so. Amid the rally in “risky” assets over the past week, gains in FX markets against …
Emerging Markets Chart Pack (November 2023) …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Core inflation pressures muted There was good news all round in the October CPI report, with the overall CPI falling in month-on-month seasonally adjusted terms for the first …
Sticking to aggressive easing ... for now The Hungarian central bank (MNB) cut its base rate by another 75bp (to 11.50%) as expected today, and we think it will continue to lower rates in similar steps until the end of Q1. That said, with the disinflation …
Shifts in the long-term outlook for interest rates relative to GDP growth have left the fiscal position in most developed economies looking more precarious. Unless governments manage to reduce their sizeable primary deficits, market concerns about public …
Note: We’ll be discussing the UK macro and market consequences of the Chancellor’s Autumn statement at 10:00 EST/15:00 GMT on 22nd November. Register here for this 20-minute online briefing. This page has been updated with additional analysis since first …
Since early 2020 there has been a clear divergence in performance between data centers and the traditional commercial real estate sectors. Looking forward, we expect the hyperscale sub-sector will continue to outperform off the back of growing cloud …
20th November 2023
We are doubtful that the recent strength of consumption is because real incomes are being understated, as some have suggested. It is more likely that so-called “excess savings” were previously underestimated, but even the latest estimates imply those …
Victory for maverick Javier Milei in Argentina’s presidential election means the country is about to embark on yet another economic experiment. While it is hard to say what that will bring for its financial markets, the promise of shock therapy has …
This is an updated checklist which takes into account our latest expectations for the Autumn Statement. The checklist helps clients keep track of the key policies and forecasts announced during the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement at 12.30pm (GMT) on …
In our flagship report on the neutral interest rate (r*), we argued that r* in developed markets will rise and be higher than is widely assumed. (The full report can be accessed here .) For most EMs, r* is also likely to be higher (with China being a …
Supply stays strong Global aluminium production rose in October and set a monthly record. This is unlikely to be broken over the next few months as China’s output should fall as smelters curb output over winter. According to the International Aluminium …
Does the surprise victory of Javier Milei in Argentina's presidential election mean the country is about to experience a raft of unorthodox economic policymaking to fix its ailing economy? How likely is Milei's dollarisation plan? What does this electoral …
The intensification of loadshedding has brought growth in South Africa’s economy to a halt this year, but there appears (finally) to be some light at the end of the tunnel. Repairs to existing power plants, independent power projects, and the …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication . Economic recovery now underway The 0.3% q/q expansion in Chile’s GDP in Q3 suggests that the recovery is beginning to take hold. We continue to expect above-consensus GDP …
Harry Truman’s quip about a recession being “when your neighbour loses his job; it’s a depression when you lose yours”, captures many of the difficulties in both identifying when these downturns hit, and how severe they can be. There are crucial …
Milan prime office yields appear very low both compared to other alternative assets and other euro-zone countries. By any standards, office property there looks highly overvalued. But looking ahead, as rent growth trails elsewhere in the region, we expect …
Javier Milei’s victory in the final round of Argentina’s presidential election yesterday will bring about a major shift in economic policymaking. We suspect that some of his more radical proposals – namely dollarisation – may not materialise given limited …
Economic growth in Thailand picked up in the third quarter of the year and we expect the economy to record steady, if unspectacular growth over the coming quarters, helped by looser fiscal policy and a further recovery in the tourism sector. GDP growth …
Our China Activity Proxy (CAP) shows that the economy was still making headway last month, though it appears to have lost some steam. Downside risks continue to linger, particularly in the property sector. But we think policy support will keep the …
Markets are continuing to debate “recession or no recession” but, as Group Chief Economist Neil Shearing tells David Wilder in this latest episode, the debate is too binary and fails to take into account the different types of recession that the monetary …
17th November 2023
CBN poor communication harming credibility CBN Governor Cardoso’s press remarks this week highlighted his continued ambition to restore confidence in and the credibility of the Bank. But so far an action that would help – a clear strategy to stabilise the …
The dollar is ending the week on the back foot, with the DXY index on track for its worst week since July, after this week’s US CPI print came in softer than expected. That has reinforced the growing consensus that US inflation is on track back to target …
‘Growth’ stocks have held up well vis-à-vis ‘value’ stocks this year despite the surge in real yields. But relatively optimistic earnings expectations for growth stocks may prevent them from steaming ahead even if, as we expect, real yields fall further. …
Massa vs. Milei – the final round The final round of Argentina’s drawn-out presidential election process takes place on Sunday, pitching left-wing Peronist and current Economy Minister Sergio Massa against right-wing libertarian Javier Milei. The result …
Falling inflation prompts rate cut speculation Better inflation news prompts big market moves The release of the slightly-better-than-expected October CPI data earlier this week triggered a massive reaction in markets, with the two-year Treasury yield …
For the first time since the pandemic, the government will find itself with less fiscal room than expected when it provides an update of its plans next week. Accordingly, we doubt that the Fall Economic Statement will contain any major giveaways. Gloomy …
We’ll be discussing the UK macro and market consequences of the Chancellor’s Autumn statement at 10:00 EST/15:00 GMT on 22nd November. Register here for this 20-minute online briefing. The Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, will want to use next Wednesday’s Autumn …
Gold and silver prices soared this week on renewed optimism that the Fed had hiked to the peak of its monetary policy mountain. We expect prices to rise further when interest rates begin to be cut in the first half of next year. Oil prices were not …
Easing inflation and stronger shekel Data out of Israel for October this week suggest that the initial impact of the conflict with Hamas on the export sector was fairly limited, that inflation pressures continued to ease and that the chances of an …
Recent export resilience unlikely to last While the Q3 GDP release disappointed this week, there was some (qualified) good news in the October trade data. Although headline export growth slowed to 1.6% y/y, from 4.3% in September, a deceleration had been …
The emerging “goldilocks” narrative is a challenge to our forecast that the dollar will appreciate a bit over the coming months while the more cyclically sensitive currencies underperform, but we continue to think that the renewed optimism about the …
Starts continue to bounce back With homebuilders encouraged by the recent surge in buyers entering the new homes market due to a lack of existing inventory, housing starts and permits edged slightly higher in October. Total housing starts rose 1.9% m/m …
A German constitutional court ruling this week threatens to force the government to cut its planned climate-related expenditure by €60bn or 1.2% of GDP. The decision states that it was not lawful for the government to reallocate this un-used borrowing …
Developers retreating, LGFVs taking their place In remarks published by state media last weekend, China’s housing minister, Ni Hong, discussed plans to alter the country’s real estate development model, shifting the focus from quantity to quality. There …
Back-to-back rate hikes unlikely Bank Indonesia surprised financial markets (and us) by hiking interest rates in October. But we don’t expect it to follow through with another hike at its scheduled meeting on Thursday. The main reason BI hiked last …
While the US economy considerably outperformed its DM peers in Q3, we think that all advanced economies will suffer a weak Q4. High interest rates are weighing on credit growth, and a further rise in debt servicing costs in the coming quarters is likely …
The US and China once again backed the G20 goal of tripling global renewable energy capacity this week (from 2020), a goal which would help to keep the path to net zero emissions by 2050 on track. However, the speed of the energy transition is uncertain, …
Commodity imports boosting trade deficit The men’s cricket team are soaring on the pitch, while the monthly goods trade deficit is doing so off it. Data released this week showed that it hit an all-time high of $31.5bn in October. That surpassed the …
