Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Gulf overheating fears fail to materialise The massive fiscal stimulus packages unveiled by Gulf economies in the wake of the Arab Spring raised fears at the time that they would lead to economic overheating and rising inflation. Fortunately... 4th December 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus How would exiting countries fare outside the euro-zone? Contrary to some suggestions, there are good reasons to think that, beyond the initial economic andfinancial disruption caused by an exit from the euro-zone, most of the current peripheral... 3rd December 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Unemployment (Oct.) & Flash CPI (Nov.) The latest news on the euro-zone labour market and inflation further underlined the general weakness of the region’s economy. 30th November 2012 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Are the one-offs boosting inflation really one-offs? The Bank of England continues to argue that inflation is being kept high by a series of one-off factors. Many of the “idiosyncratic” factors boosting inflation at the moment may prove to be more than... 28th November 2012 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Housing recovery an upside risk to inflation Unless the housing recovery proves to be much stronger than we expect, it won’t provide a worrying boost to core CPI inflation. Nonetheless, the housing market poses an upside risk to our view that... 27th November 2012 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Consumer Price Index (Oct. 12) Although core inflation, which remained at 1.3% in October, was slightly firmer than the consensus forecast of 1.2%, it remains well below the 2% policy target. Given the third-quarter economic... 23rd November 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Inflation slows, strong pick-up unlikely ahead Emerging Market (EM) inflation slowed in October. Even if inflation does pick up again in the coming months as a result of past increases in commodity prices, the big picture is that any rise is... 23rd November 2012 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update How much difference would a 2% inflation target make? The LDP’s manifesto for the elections in December, published today, includes a commitment to persuade the Bank of Japan to raise its inflation target from 1% to 2%. This has added to the downward... 21st November 2012 · 1 min read
US Data Response Consumer Prices (Oct.) The annual rate of CPI inflation edged back up to 2.2% last month, from 2.0%, but will drop back before year-end thanks to the continued decline in gasoline prices. Core inflation remained unchanged... 15th November 2012 · 1 min read
US Data Response Retail Sales & Producer Prices (Oct.) October’s retail sales figures suggest that consumption has lost a bit of momentum ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season. If this was due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy, then sales will... 14th November 2012 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Bank of England Inflation Report (Nov.) Although the Bank of England’s latest Inflation Report showed inflation projected to be broadly at its 2% target at the two year policy horizon, Mervyn King’s comments at the press conference... 14th November 2012 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Consumer Prices & Producer Prices (Oct.) October’s rise in CPI inflation from 2.2% to 2.7% provided another explanation for why the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which would have seen the headline figures, held back from providing more... 13th November 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Subsidy cuts likely to push Egypt inflation higher The latest data from Egypt paint a disappointing picture of weakening growth and rising inflation. And with subsidy cuts and tax hikes expected as conditions to any agreement with the IMF, headline... 12th November 2012 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Is the October surprise too good to be true? China’s October activity data provide the strongest signs so far of economic recovery. Given that they have been published while the Party Congress is in session, some sceptics have questioned whether... 9th November 2012 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South African CPI reweighting doesn't alter rate outlook The new weights assigned to components of the South African CPI basket, which are due to come into effect in January 2013, will have only a marginal impact on overall inflation. As such, the... 8th November 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Unemployment (Sep.) & Flash CPI (Oct.) The rise in euro-zone unemployment in September, coupled with the high level of CPI inflation, does not bode well for consumer spending in the latter part of 2012. 31st October 2012 · 1 min read
