US Economics Weekly Not the quiet first week back we were all hoping for Although we think that markets are still over-estimating the potential for additional large-scale fiscal stimulus this year, the Democrats’ unexpected victories in both Georgia Senate run-off... 8th January 2021 · 8 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly In store for a bumpy start to 2021 The gloomy backdrop of rising virus cases casts a dark shadow over Q1. However, we expect the rollout of vaccines will pave the way to a rebound in economic activity in May/June, and that Nordic... 8th January 2021 · 6 mins read
India Economics Weekly Vaccine hopes and concerns The approval of COVID-19 vaccines in India this week were quicker than most had expected, but concerns over the approval process and pricing disagreements underscore some of the challenges that remain... 8th January 2021 · 5 mins read
Europe Chart Pack Second wave delays the recovery The extension of lockdowns has dashed hopes of an early rebound in economic activity. Instead, the economy is likely to contract in the first quarter of this year. After falling quite steeply at the... 7th January 2021 · 12 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Saudi oil output, vaccine rollout, Qatar un-blockaded Saudi Arabia’s surprise voluntary oil output cut unveiled at this week’s OPEC+ meeting has lifted oil prices, but will mean that GDP growth will probably be weaker in Q1 than we had previously... 7th January 2021 · 7 mins read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Retail Sales (Nov.), HICP & ESI (Dec.) Activity data published this morning suggest that the euro-zone economy performed better in Q4 than we had anticipated. But the recent extensions of lockdowns make it more likely that the economy... 7th January 2021 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update Inflation will rise this year, but remain very low Euro-zone core inflation is likely to rise this year as the temporary VAT cut in Germany expires and last year’s sharp falls in holiday and clothing prices are reversed. However, the inflation rate... 6th January 2021 · 4 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Switzerland CPI (Dec.) Swiss inflation is likely to climb out of deflationary territory over the coming months. However, it is still set to remain very weak over the coming years, and does not change the picture for the SNB... 5th January 2021 · 2 mins read
India Chart Pack Cautious optimism as 2020 ends COVID-19 has ravaged India’s economy in 2020, and GDP is all but certain to have suffered its largest slump on record this year. But there are reasons for optimism as the year draws to a close... 23rd December 2020 · 9 mins read
US Economics Update Stimulus another reason for optimism about 2021 The additional $900bn stimulus that looks likely to be passed by Congress within the next day or two means that we are raising our GDP growth forecast for 2021 to 5.5%, from 5.0%. 21st December 2020 · 3 mins read
Global Inflation Watch Central banks to look through higher inflation Energy price base effects will drive up inflation in the first half of 2021, but central banks will look through this. Indeed, in most cases, inflation should be around or below target over the second... 17th December 2020 · 15 mins read
Emerging Europe Chart Pack Vaccine offers hope, but challenges still lie ahead Daily new COVID-19 infections have levelled off or fallen in most parts of Central Europe and there are signs that activity has started to rebound. But the fresh rise in new cases this month in... 17th December 2020 · 16 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Norges Bank plotting (gradual) path back to normality As was widely expected, the Norges Bank left its policy rate on hold at zero this morning. However, it brought forward the projected start of rate hikes and signalled that it will retighten... 17th December 2020 · 3 mins read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Final HICP (Nov.) The breakdown of November inflation showed that falling prices for tourism-related services remain a major drag on headline and core inflation, which were unrevised from the flash estimates. Looking... 17th December 2020 · 2 mins read
Japan Chart Pack Go To Travel suspension will weigh on consumption PM Suga’s decision on Tuesday to halt the Go To Travel campaign for two weeks from 28th December may put the recovery in services spending into temporary reverse. It comes after authorities in Tokyo... 17th December 2020 · 10 mins read
US Chart Pack Vaccines too late to prevent bleak winter There is now clear evidence that the continued surge in COVID-19 infections and restrictions imposed to control its spread are once again weighing on the economy, with employment growth slowing... 16th December 2020 · 9 mins read