Global Economics Focus Is now the time for a helicopter drop? Central banks are already facilitating fiscal packages in various ways. But with the fiscal costs of the coronavirus likely to rise much further, policymakers might consider explicitly financing them... 24th March 2020 · 16 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update New Zealand - RBNZ unleashes full QE firepower New Zealand is set to enter a near-total lockdown this week which will cause economic activity to all but stop. The RBNZ launched quantitative easing today, but we think that more monetary stimulus... 23rd March 2020 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update ESM could be a game-changer While the ECB’s extra €750bn in bond purchases has reduced financial market stress, governments also need to deliver a large fiscal response without triggering a fresh sovereign debt crisis. In our... 20th March 2020 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Update Emergency rate cut in Thailand, sharp downturn looms With the growth outlook deteriorating rapidly, the Bank of Thailand today became the sixth central bank in the region to cut interest rates this week. The 25bp emergency rate cut takes the policy rate... 20th March 2020 · 2 mins read
BoE Watch Bank may build on its huge stimulus package The decisive action taken by the Bank of England in the past two weeks has succeeded in easing some stresses in the financial markets. But if financial conditions continue to tighten between now and... 20th March 2020 · 6 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly NOK carnage; Danish rate hike! The Norwegian krone has endured an extraordinary week and will be vulnerable to further falls until market sentiment improves. Nonetheless, if our forecast for oil prices to start to rise later this... 20th March 2020 · 4 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia’s central bank likely to lower rates soon The Russian central bank’s decision to keep the policy rate unchanged at 6.00% today made it one of the few major central banks that has yet to cut rates to support the economy in response to the... 20th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly ECB’s next challenge is to raise its issuer limits Following the huge expansion of its asset purchases this week, the ECB’s will still need to raise the issuer limits on its bond holdings. We think it will eventually do so, providing a credible... 20th March 2020 · 6 mins read
India Economics Weekly Policymakers hold back, rupee drops to record low Both Prime Minister Modi and RBI Governor Das took cautious steps in their responses to the coronavirus outbreak this week, but left the door open for more aggressive measures. With domestic virus... 20th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Massive policy response to deteriorating outlook The draconian measures in place in Australia to curb the spread of the virus are weighing heavily on economic activity. We now expect output to decline by 2% in 2020 and the unemployment rate to rise... 20th March 2020 · 4 mins read
UK Economics Update BoE forced into more emergency action by market stress The big package of measures announced by the Bank of England today in its second emergency meeting in just over a week is designed to ease the stress in the financial markets and to support the... 19th March 2020 · 3 mins read
US Economics Update Fiscal support needed, but Fed still has more to do The Fed’s revival of financial crisis-era programs and a huge ramp-up in the pace of its open-ended Treasury purchases in recent days could help to stem some of the bleeding in financial markets. But... 19th March 2020 · 4 mins read
Africa Economics Update South Africa: SARB makes strong response South African policymakers appear to have decided that the current grave economic situation requires a bold response, and have moved away from their traditional hawkishness. We expect that they will... 19th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Bank Indonesia will need to keep one eye on the rupiah Bank Indonesia cut interest rates today, but the slump in the rupiah in recent days means policymakers in the country will need to act more cautiously than other central banks in the region over the... 19th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Taiwan cuts rates, more easing likely In response to the rapidly worsening outlook for the economy, Taiwan’s central bank (CBC) today cut its key policy rate today by 25bps to 1.125% and announced other measures to support the economy... 19th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update SNB does what it can with its little ammunition left While the Swiss National Bank left its key policy rate on hold at -0.75% this morning, it made all the right noises by making its exemptions to the banking sector from negative interest rates even... 19th March 2020 · 3 mins read
