China Economics Update Growth to remain weak despite added policy support Today’s cut to the required reserve ratio is partly about managing liquidity ahead of Chinese New Year. But it is also intended to provide support to the economy and will be reinforced with further... 4th January 2019 · 1 min read
India Economics Weekly Election measures raise long-term risks The drumbeat of pre-election giveaways continues at the state level in the form of loan waivers and from the national government. These steps may be effective politically but they risk eroding... 4th January 2019 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Regional growth to slow in 2019, Egypt rate cuts The raft of GDP figures released over the past week showed that, in aggregate, the MENA economies strengthened in Q3 of last year. But we think that a fresh slowdown is on the cards in 2019. Meanwhile... 3rd January 2019 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Our key calls for 2019 GDP growth will probably weaken in both Australia and New Zealand in 2019. And even though the labour market may tighten a little further, inflation is unlikely to rise much. The upshot is that... 3rd January 2019 · 1 min read
Bank of Canada Watch Little reason for Bank to cheer at start of New Year With the sudden slump in oil prices over the last three months likely to weigh heavily on economic growth, and fears of a global downturn building, we expect the Bank to keep rates unchanged and... 2nd January 2019 · 1 min read
Canada Chart Pack Core inflation set to fall further Two of the Bank of Canada’s three measures of core inflation, CPI-trim and CPI-median, declined in November. As a result, an average of the three measures fell to 1.9%, the lowest in five months. Base... 21st December 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Business Outlook Survey (Q4) The slump in the Business Outlook Survey future sales balance looks consistent with GDP growth falling towards zero and is another reason to doubt that the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates... 21st December 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Riksbank finally hikes, Swiss risks reduce The Riksbank’s decision to hike interest rates this week supported our long-held view that it would tighten policy more aggressively than investors anticipate. But the risks from high household debt... 21st December 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Poloz maintains upbeat tone despite oil price slump In an interview this week, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz seemed fairly relaxed about the economic outlook. But with inflationary pressures fading, oil prices falling again and exporters... 21st December 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Markets increasingly pricing in a Fed mistake The clear view in financial markets in the wake of the December FOMC meeting is that any further rate hikes over the coming months are likely to be reversed in 2020. Our long-held forecast is that a... 21st December 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Getting banks to lend again We doubt that the phasing-out of caps on interest-only loans will provide much support to the housing market as there’s still a large imbalance between supply and demand. And the government won’t... 21st December 2018 · 1 min read
China Economics Weekly Xi’s flawed “China model”, PBOC’s new policy tool Xi Jinping used the 40 th anniversary of the start of China’s economic reforms to set out a narrative which placed state and, in particular, Party control at the heart of China’s subsequent economic... 21st December 2018 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Should Brexit fog clear, risks to rates lie on the upside The thickening Brexit fog meant that the Monetary Policy Committee was always going to leave interest rates at 0.75% today and it looks as though that fog won’t fade for a few months. But should a... 20th December 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Taiwan: rates to be left unchanged next year Taiwan’s central bank (CBC) today left its policy rate on hold at 1.375% and gave little indication in its accompanying statement that it is in any hurry to adjust its policy setting anytime soon. We... 20th December 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Riksbank’s surprise hike unlikely to be a one-off The Riksbank’s surprise decision to hike interest rates today supported our long-held call that it would tighten policy more aggressively than investors anticipate. But there is a clear risk that a... 20th December 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank Indonesia set to raise interest rates next year Today’s decision by Bank Indonesia (BI) to leave interest rates unchanged at 6.0% is unlikely to mark the end of the tightening cycle given the likelihood of further falls in the rupiah over the... 20th December 2018 · 1 min read