Europe Economics Update Massive economic damage means Grexit still likely The scale of the damage done to the Greek economy by the country’s renewed crisis and imposition of capital controls looks set to be far worse than the provisional plans for a third bailout envisaged... 3rd August 2015 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Fed more confident, second-quarter rebound confirmed The Fed's more upbeat tone on economic conditions in the latest FOMC policy statement was a long way from it ringing the alarm bells on a September lift-off. Nevertheless, it still suggests that the... 3rd August 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Greek bailout on the rocks before it’s begun? Looking ahead to this week, we think that euro-zone retail sales data for June will reveal a slight slowdown in annual sales growth. On a country level, indicative of their wider economic performances... 31st July 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Chart Pack Brazil slashes its fiscal goals The substantial cuts to Brazil’s primary surplus targets announced this month underline the inherent difficulty of fixing budget problems against the backdrop of a weakening economy. As it happens... 31st July 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russian MPC cuts rates, but ruble concerns come to the fore The Russian central bank (CBR) cut its one-week repo rate by 50bp, to 11.0%, today, but the recent fall in the ruble triggered a clear shift in the Council’s tone, and policymakers are no longer... 31st July 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Time to worry about currency weakness? Asian currencies have fallen again over the past week, with a number now at multi-year low sagainst the US dollar. With the exception of Malaysia, where US dollar debt is high, currency weakness is... 31st July 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Economy to recover only slowly from Q2 slump The June activity and spending data cemented our view that Japan’s economy shrank last quarter.While business surveys point to a rebound in Q3, growth will likely remain too slow to create strong... 31st July 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt rate cuts likely to come onto the agenda The Egyptian central bank kept its benchmark O/N deposit rate unchanged at 8.75% late last night, but with inflation set to fall sharply, rate cuts are likely to come back onto the cards. We have... 31st July 2015 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Conditions to stay loose despite looming Fed hikes Even though the US Fed is likely to begin raising interest rates in September, global monetary conditions are set to remain ultra-loose over the coming years as a number of other central banks ease... 31st July 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Pondering potential growth Australia’s potential growth rate has probably slowed to around 2.75% from the 3.00% to 3.25% that the Reserve Bank of Australia has assumed for many years. While this may decrease the Bank’s desire... 31st July 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update First thoughts on Turkey’s mooted new policy rate Comments from Turkish central bank (CBRT) Governor Erdem Basci earlier today that the Bank is planning to move away from using its complex interest rate “corridor” and towards the use of a single... 30th July 2015 · 1 min read
BoE Watch Hawks to break rank This month’s MPC vote will probably be split for the first time this year. While only a minority will vote for a rate rise, the risk of a hike this year has risen. Indeed, Mark Carney will probably... 30th July 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asian currencies caught up in EM sell-off Asian currencies have been caught up in a general sell-off of EM assets this month, as interest rate hikes in the US have started to loom. Some currencies are now at or close to multi-year lows. That... 30th July 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil hikes rates, tightening cycle probably over The decision by Brazil’s monetary policy committee (COPOM) to raise interest rates by another 50bp to 14.25% was largely expected, but the move to signal the end of the tightening cycle in the... 30th July 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Swedish GDP (Q2, Prov.) The provisional estimate of Swedish Q2 GDP revealed that the economic recovery regained some momentum after the disappointing start to the year. But we doubt that it will prevent the Riksbank from... 30th July 2015 · 1 min read
RBI Watch New Financial Code risks damaging RBI independence The draft version of the government’s Financial Code, released last week, could have important implications for the functioning of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The adoption of a voting monetary... 30th July 2015 · 1 min read