Asia Economics Update Taiwan’s central bank in no rush to adjust policy Taiwan’s central bank (CBC) decided to keep its policy rate on hold today at 1.375% against a backdrop of decent economic growth and subdued inflationary pressures. The familiar and dovish tone of the... 22nd March 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Philippines central bank to look through inflation spike The Philippines central bank (BSP) decision to leave rates on hold today, despite this year’s jump in inflation, adds weight to our view that policy will remain on hold throughout 2018. This stands in... 22nd March 2018 · 1 min read
China Economics Update The PBOC continues to pretend to follow the Fed For the second time since December, the People’s Bank has responded to a Fed rate hike by raising the rates it charges when providing funds in China’s interbank market. But contrary to perceptions, it... 22nd March 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update New Zealand - RBNZ no closer to raising rates Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Grant Spencer finished his six-month term without any fireworks by leaving interest rates at 1.75% for the 16 th month and reiterating that rates are unlikely to... 21st March 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Powell era begins on a hawkish note The Fed’s decision to raise interest rates by 25bp today was widely expected but some investors may have been caught off-guard by the degree to which Fed officials increased their projections for... 21st March 2018 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Powell era begins on a hawkish note The Fed’s decision to raise interest rates by 25bp today was widely expected but some investors may have been caught off-guard by the degree to which Fed officials increased their projections for... 21st March 2018 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Colombia still open to rate cuts, Chile on hold for now Colombia’s central bank left its policy rate unchanged at 4.50% last night, but the accompanying statement left the door open for further easing in the near term. Meanwhile, Chile’s central bank kept... 21st March 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Fed leapfrogs the RBA and RBNZ We believe the probable rise in US rates on Wednesday will mark the start of the first prolonged period since the late 1990s where interest rates in America are higher than in Australia and New... 21st March 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Feb.) Japanese households and firms now both receive more in interest income than they pay out on their debt. That is making life difficult for banks. The main factor keeping them afloat is their sizeable... 20th March 2018 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Kenya: Easing cycle restarts, CBK mute on lending cap Today’s rate cut will be followed by another cut later this year. The pace of further easing will depend on when the government amends or abandons its controversial cap on lending rates. 19th March 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Chart Pack Inflation outturns weak The latest inflation data in the Nordic countries and Switzerland have generally been quite weak. Indeed, inflation in Switzerland slowed to a five-month low of 0.6% in February. The core rate was... 16th March 2018 · 2 mins read
US Economics Weekly Rising prime-age participation a new structural trend The surge in job growth in February, which was fuelled by a rise in new entrants to the labour force, supports the doves’ view that there is still hidden slack in the labour market. But the story isn... 16th March 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly What is the ECB trying to tell us? This week has featured a raft of speeches from the ECB’s Governing Council on the outlook for monetary policy, displaying a range of views among its members. Several would clearly prefer to end asset... 16th March 2018 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Latest stress test won’t derail bank lending While the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) left its annual stress test scenario unchanged, the test will still be a bit more stringent this year for some major UK banks. Nonetheless... 16th March 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Which central banks are most likely to deliver surprises? Central banks across Emerging Asia typically do a poor job at flagging up their decisions in advance, which often leads to investors being wrong-footed. Since the start of 2010, under half of interest... 16th March 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Sluggish wage growth to prevent BoJ from tightening We wouldn’t read too much into the early results of this year’s spring wage negotiations, which showed that the large carmakers and electronic firms lifted base pay by less than in 2014 and 2015. But... 16th March 2018 · 1 min read
