RBNZ Watch New Zealand - Don’t expect a change in rates for at least three years The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will keep interest rates unchanged at 1.75% at the policy meeting on Thursday 8th November, with recent encouraging economic data making a cut less likely. Even so, we... 1st November 2018 · 1 min read
RBA Watch RBA will hold its horses until late in 2020 The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will welcome the continued tightening of the labour market when it holds interest rates steady at 1.50% on Melbourne Cup Day, which falls on Tuesday 6th November... 1st November 2018 · 1 min read
US Fed Watch Still on track for a December hike Although the Fed is unlikely to make any policy changes at next week’s meeting, we expect the statement to reiterate the FOMC’s plan to continue gradually raising interest rates, with the next move... 31st October 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Crisis in Sri Lanka is bad news for the economy The current political crisis in Sri Lanka, which has seen the country’s president, Maithripala Sirisena, replace Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, comes at a... 31st October 2018 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Kenya & Uganda: Inflation will remain within target Price pressures eased in Kenya and Uganda in October, and we think that inflation will remain within target in both countries. Kenyan policymakers will probably keep their key rate on hold in 2019... 31st October 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economic Outlook Regional slowdown to continue Growth in most of Emerging Europe will continue to slow over the next couple of years, and by more than most expect. The slowdown is set to be sharpest in Turkey, where the recent currency crisis will... 31st October 2018 · 1 min read
Global Central Bank Watch Equity sell-off unlikely to derail policy tightening Despite the recent plunge in equity prices, it looks highly likely that the Fed will raise interest rates again in December and then press ahead with two more rate hikes in the first half of 2019. But... 31st October 2018 · 1 min read
India Economics Update Government risks undermining RBI credibility The Indian government is treading on dangerous ground with a number of moves that could put the independence of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) at risk. A loss of credibility for the central bank... 31st October 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Downbeat BoJ unlikely to tighten anytime soon The Bank of Japan seems to be getting a little more worried about the impact of prolonged easing on financial stability. However, the looming sales tax hike and the downgrade to the BoJ’s inflation... 31st October 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Political risks back on the radar Political developments have re-emerged as a key risk to the region’s economic outlook in recent weeks. The economic fallout for Saudi Arabia from the Khashoggi scandal should be limited, at least in... 30th October 2018 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Amlo starting to show his true colours The direct impact on Mexico’s economy resulting from president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s decision to scrap the Texcoco airport project will be small, but it is the clearest sign yet that... 30th October 2018 · 1 min read
Africa Chart Pack Budget plans put focus on weak fiscal positions Policymakers in South Africa and Nigeria both laid out fiscal plans this month, but their responses to weak revenues were very different. South Africa’s new finance minister announced a wider deficit... 30th October 2018 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Renminbi to break through 7.0 before long The People’s Bank (PBOC) appears to have stepped up intervention recently to support the renminbi as it has approached 7.0 to the US dollar. Many are talking about that line as a psychological... 29th October 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Fed’s monetary framework requires more tweaks With the effective fed funds rate getting close to the top of its target range again, there’s a good chance that the Fed will combine a 25bp hike in the fed funds target range in December with another... 29th October 2018 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Bolsonaro’s victory: three things to watch now Comments from Brazil’s president-elect suggesting that the central bank should target the exchange rate have made headlines today but his post-election comments otherwise point to orthodox... 29th October 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Riksbank and Norges Bank signal rate rises ahead While both the Riksbank and the Norges Bank kept monetary policy unchanged this week, they signalled in their policy statements that they intend to raise interest rates in the coming months. With... 26th October 2018 · 1 min read