Our Interactive Markets Chart Pack gives you a comprehensive and timely view of the latest developments in financial markets, and how we expect them to perform in 2025 and beyond. The Chart Pack can be downloaded in PDF form using the Download button on …
13th March 2025
Weak economy finally taking its toll on housing demand February’s RICS survey suggests the downside risks to our 2025 forecasts for housing demand and prices from the weak economy continue to grow. But bigger falls in mortgage rates than most expect over …
It’s little surprise that inflation data for February hardly moved the dial for the US stock market – that probably requires clarity on trade policy and signs of economic resilience. Our base case is that both of these will come in the coming months (even …
12th March 2025
The policy turnarounds that have continued in Argentina, Egypt, Nigeria and Turkey have led to a sharp reduction in sovereign risk premia but have had mixed success in restoring macroeconomic stability so far. We remain most optimistic on the outlook for …
Although the Bank of Canada cut interest rates by 25bp again today, it also warned that “monetary policy cannot offset the impacts of a trade war” and that it must guard against tariff-related rises in price inflation. This suggests that the Bank is …
South Africa’s 2025 Budget speech was (finally) delivered but it’s not at all clear whether the plans will be approved given the DA’s opposition to the proposed VAT hike. We think there is more horse trading to be done, with Finance Minister Godongwana …
NBP on hold, talk of rate cuts in H2 may be premature The decision by the National Bank of Poland (NBP) to leave its policy rate on hold today, at 5.75%, was widely anticipated, but we think that interest rates will stay higher than most others expect …
Powell not yet concerned by signs of weak first-quarter GDP growth Still too hot inflation and rising inflation expectations will concern the Fed But new economic projections will probably still point to some loosening this year Comments from Chair Jerome …
Bank cuts again but warns that it must protect against tariff-induced inflation Although the Bank of Canada cut interest rates by 25bp again today, it also warned that “monetary policy cannot offset the impacts of a trade war” and that it must guard …
Not as good as it looks The softer 0.23% m/m rise in core CPI in February is not as encouraging at it looks, as the components which feed into the Fed’s preferred PCE price index rose more sharply. While it will depend a lot on the PPI data tomorrow, our …
Inflation jump keeps door open for more rate hikes The sharp rise in Brazilian inflation to 5.1% y/y in February is likely to be followed by further increases in the coming months. Our base case is that next week’s Copom meeting will see the final (100bp) …
Events of the past week or so have worsened the outlook for German commercial property. While more government spending could marginally boost rents, the higher outlook for interest rates will outweigh this positive, and will likely put upward pressure on …
Kenya’s 2025/26 budget has set out ambitious revenue-raising plans that we think will be tough to achieve and some fiscal slippage is inevitable. The result is that, in the absence of further fiscal consolidation efforts, Kenya’s public debt-to-GDP ratio …
Further easing in inflation leaves door open to more rate cuts The larger-than-expected fall in Indian headline consumer price inflation to below the RBI’s 4% target in February supports our view that the central bank will continue to loosen monetary …
Bank will keep policy unchanged next week but we expect a 25bp hike in May Strong inflation and wage growth warrant more tightening; US tariffs key risk Rates will reach neutral territory of 1.5% in 2027 The Bank of Japan will keep policy settings …
The imposition of US tariffs and risk of more to come will weigh on exports, consumer confidence and investment. As a result, we now forecast weaker economic growth, with GDP expanding by just 1.0% annualised on average over the next four quarters. For …
11th March 2025
As was the case last summer, we think the US stock market will bounce back from its “growth scare”, even if tariffs are involved this time around. After falling by 2.7% yesterday, the S&P 500 is down again today at the time of writing, bringing to about …
While January’s JOLTS report was not much to shout about, timelier labour market data suggest conditions look set to worsen amid DOGE’s gutting of the federal workforce. We remain optimistic for now, though, given the health of private sector hiring in …
Overview – India’s economy is emerging from its recent soft patch. Headline CPI inflation should remain close to the RBI’s 4% target over the coming months, enabling the central bank to continue easing monetary policy. We’re expecting a further 75bps of …
The sharp drop in retail rents seen during the pandemic coincided with a surge in rents for distribution warehouses and, as a result, the difference between the two is at a record low. That will help physical retail stores compete with online and …
10th March 2025
* This Focus features additional analysis added following the announcement of a snap election for April 28 th . * Recent shifts in the polls suggest new Liberal Party leader Mark Carney and Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre are both in with a …
We suspect the jump in bond yields in China will prove short-lived. Deflation reared its head in China again today, with the headline CPI printing at a lower-than-expected --0.7% y/y in February, emphasising, among other things, the problems the country …
The announcement by Brazil’s government that it will cut import tariff rates to zero for several food products underscores the government’s concerns about rising inflation and its own falling popularity. While we doubt the measures will do much to stop …
The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will present her fiscal update on 26 th March against the challenging backdrop of geopolitical ruptures, tariffs threats and a stagnating domestic economy. We expect Reeves to tighten fiscal policy by a further £10bn (0.3% …
The agreement by Germany’s likely next coalition partners to reform the country’s strict fiscal rules is both historic and positive: historic because it reflects a shift in attitudes within Europe’s largest economy away from a rigid adherence to fiscal …
Higher defence and infrastructure spending will support euro-zone GDP growth late this year and in 2026. But the boost will be smaller than some are hoping for and take time to feed through. So we expect the recent economic weakness to continue in the …
Inflation plunges, opening the door for first rate cut Egypt’s headline inflation rate slowed sharply from 24.0% y/y in January to a near three-year low of 12.8% y/y in February, which should pave the way for the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to start its …
Deflation fears return CPI joined PPI in deflationary territory last month for the first time in more than a year. While this was partly driven by the usual price volatility around Lunar New Year, the January-February average was also negative, evidence …
Wage growth will accelerate further Regular pay growth surged in January and with this year’s spring wage negotiations set to result in stronger pay hikes than last year, wage growth will pick up further over the course of the year. According to the …
9th March 2025
While heightened uncertainty and worries about the US economy may keep investors on their toes for a while yet, we think the risk-on mood in markets will come back before the end of the year. The US Employment Report for February , released today, …
7th March 2025
The dollar has suffered one of its largest weekly falls on record in the wake of President Trump’s latest tariff flip-flip , continued jitters around the health of the US economy and, most importantly, Germany’s historic fiscal policy shift . We have …
The US tariff exemption for USMCA-compliant goods still leaves considerable uncertainty for the economy because less than 40% of exports to the US last year were formally USMCA compliant. The share that could be quickly declared USMCA-compliant is likely …
Rand makes gains, but for how long? The rand rallied this week on the news that South Africa’s current account deficit narrowed in 2024, but it remains vulnerable to depreciation given that the terms of trade are set to worsen, and the stability of the …
Mexico may have received a (belated) reprieve from US tariffs this week, but some goods will still be subject to US duties now and there’s still the lingering uncertainty about whether Mexico will face tariffs on 2 nd April. Assuming Mexico faces a tariff …
Tariff flip-flop amplifies confusion Markets reacted badly this week when President Donald Trump first imposed 25% tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico, with the only partial exemption for Canadian energy. The next day, under pressure from the …
The agreement reached this week by the German government’s likely next coalition parties to reform the national fiscal rule suggest they will implement a significant fiscal stimulus over the next two years, which we think could lift German GDP growth by …
What a week! Germany’s fiscal announcement on Monday evening amounts to a potentially huge increase in public sector demand and bond issuance (see here ) and could result in the widest sustained deficit since reunification. The market reacted accordingly, …
NPC points to a renewed pick-up in fiscal spending The announcements out of the National People’s Congress (NPC) confirmed that China’s budget deficit will widen this year. But given the complexity of the Ministry of Finance’s fiscal projections, the …
The UK government’s decision to raise defence spending from 2.3% of GDP to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 was upstaged this week. It may have been enough to impress President Trump, but incoming German Chancellor Merz has raised the bar. The German response differs …
Labour market still in decent shape The modest 151,000 rise in non-farm payrolls in February and 0.1%-point rise in the unemployment rate to 4.1% confirms the economy started the year soft but is not plummeting towards a recession. Some of those fears may …
Weather rather than tariffs to blame for weak hiring The essentially unchanged level of employment in February was probably mostly due to the unseasonably severe winter weather during the survey reference week rather than the threat of US tariffs. …
Discipline difficulties meet demand delusion While we learned this week that OPEC+ is sticking to its plan to gradually raise oil output from April (see here ), question marks over production discipline within the group and the strength of global oil …
Period of strong growth comes to an abrupt end The sharp slowdown in Brazil’s GDP growth, to just 0.2% q/q, in the final quarter of last year confirms that the economy’s recent period of strong growth has come to an abrupt end. We now think the economy …
