Global Central Bank Watch Could policymakers cope with another downturn? Policymakers gathering in Jackson Hole last week highlighted that a fall in equilibrium real interest rates means that central banks may have little room to cut rates in the event of another recession... 1st September 2016 · 1 min read
Bank of Canada Watch Bank will be on hold for some time The Bank of Canada is unlikely to take any action at the upcoming policy meeting on 7th September. The 1.6% annualised decline in second-quarter GDP was worse than the 1.0% fall the Bank assumed in... 1st September 2016 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Is China engaging in QE by the back door? A number of commentators have recently drawn attention to a rapid rise in lending by the People’s Bank to domestic banks and suggested that this represents a form of stealth credit expansion or... 1st September 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asian markets calm following Yellen’s comments Asian financial markets generally shrugged off last Friday’s comments from US Fed Chair Janet Yellen, in which she suggested the likelihood of an early rate hike in the US has increased. 31st August 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Norwegian GDP (Q2) The hit to Norway’s GDP growth from lower oil prices appears to be fading. Nevertheless, with growth still fairly slow and inflation set to fall sharply, we still expect the Norges Bank to loosen... 31st August 2016 · 1 min read
Africa Chart Pack Africa: Policy risks cast shadow over fragile economies Official data released over the past month mostly suggested that African economies improved a touch, but a series of political shocks has hit investor confidence. The most high-profile of these as... 30th August 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka holds rates, but further tightening still likely The central bank in Sri Lanka (CBSL) today left interest rates on hold despite a continued acceleration in credit growth, high inflation and a weak currency. We think another interest rate hike is... 30th August 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response EC Business & Consumer Survey (Aug.) August’s euro-zone Business and Consumer Survey suggests that growth has slowed and inflation expectations are weak. So the ECB will be under pressure to loosen monetary policy further at its meeting... 30th August 2016 · 1 min read
RBA Watch RBA not in a rush, but rates may fall to 1.0% next year Glenn Stevens is unlikely to end his decade as Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia with a bang, as interest rates will almost certainly be left at 1.5% at his last policy meeting on Tuesday 6th... 30th August 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Focus shifts to US payrolls Hawkish comments by some Fed officials and a slight strengthening of the US dollar ahead of Janet Yellen’s speech at Jackson Hole on Friday weighed on the prices of most commodities over the past week... 26th August 2016 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update What to expect from Jackson Hole This week’s Jackson Hole conference is unlikely to shine much light on the immediate outlook formonetary policy either in the US or elsewhere. But it will underline how concerned many centralbankers... 26th August 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Monetary Indicators Monitor (July) July’s money and credit data show a pick-up in lending growth, despite concerns about banks’ health and the UK’s vote for Brexit. Nevertheless, the data suggest that inflation will remain weak. 26th August 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly The dangers of decoupling Economic growth across Emerging Asia accelerated last quarter, as strong domestic demand compensated for weak exports. But while this “decoupling” has enabled Emerging Asia to shrug-off the weakness... 26th August 2016 · 1 min read
US Employment Report Preview Gradual slowdown in pace of payroll gains inevitable Our econometric model suggests that non-farm payrolls increased by a more sustainable 180,000 in August. Otherwise, we suspect that after remaining unchanged in recent months, the unemployment rate... 25th August 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Rate cut in Iceland set to be a one-off Today’s rate cut by the Sedlabanki is likely to be a one-off. Indeed, the recent acceleration of economic growth suggests that the risks to the Bank’s new inflation forecasts are tilted to the upside... 24th August 2016 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Should we be concerned about EM equities again? We continue to expect emerging market (EM) equities to rise further in the next couple of years, even as the Fed tightens monetary policy. But the rally has fizzled out in recent days, and we suspect... 24th August 2016 · 1 min read
