Asia Economics Weekly Asia’s exports should recover from weak Q1 Emerging Asia’s export performance took a sharp turn for the worse in the first quarter, with a slump in demand from China creating the largest drag. However, a positive turnaround is likely over the... 8th May 2015 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Trade (Mar.) Although all eyes this morning have been on the general election result, March’s trade figures have also been released and help to explain some of the slowdown in GDP growth in the first quarter. 8th May 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Bank of Japan will have to ease more before too long The Bank of Japan’s decision not to step up the pace of easing at the end of April has prompted us to pare back our expectations for yen depreciation in the near term. But we still think that... 8th May 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Growing pressure on RBNZ to join rate cutting club Last week’s news that the unemployment rate in New Zealand is not falling as widely expected and is rising as we thought it might has added to the pressure on the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) to... 8th May 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil heads deeper into the fiscal mire It is, in truth, too soon to expect any improvement in Brazil’s public finances as a result of the belt-tightening measures introduced over the past few months, but the fact that the fiscal position... 7th May 2015 · 1 min read
Global Markets Outlook Will tighter Fed policy rattle the markets? We forecast that US Treasury yields will increase further as the FOMC raises the federal funds rate more rapidly than policymakers, investors and the consensus of economists envisage. By contrast, we... 7th May 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Focus Budget Preview: Disappointing as well as “dull” While Tuesday’s Federal Budget may well live up to the “dull” label slapped on it by the Prime Minister, the failure to provide any extra support to the economy will be disappointing. This would place... 7th May 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Czech MPC turns a little less dovish The press release accompanying the Czech National Bank’s MPC meeting, at which the policy rate and the exchange rate ceiling were left unchanged, was dovish but less so than in March. As a result... 7th May 2015 · 1 min read
Global Economics Chart Pack Consumers yet to spend their oil windfall... GDP growth was faster in the euro-zone than in the US in Q1, but we don’t expect this to be the start of a new trend. The single currency area has received a temporary boost from the fall in the euro... 7th May 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia’s rate pause to continue through 2015 The Malaysian central bank (BNM) kept its policy rate on hold at 3.25% today. The key uncertainty in the months ahead is how spending reacts to April’s tax hike. As things stand though, we expect... 7th May 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Policy unchanged in Norway, but rate cut still on the cards The Norges Bank left its policy rate unchanged at 1.25% today, but we suspect that a weakening labour market and faltering economic growth will prompt a rate cut at its next meeting in June. 7th May 2015 · 1 min read
India Economics Update Reserve Bank on course to meet 2016 inflation target Inflation is likely to have remained subdued by past standards in April, with a small pick-up in transport inflation being offset by muted food and core price pressures. The big picture is that the... 7th May 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Few signs of election uncertainty undermining recovery Although GDP posted its smallest quarterly rise since 2012 in the first quarter of this year, we doubt that the economy is on the cusp of a renewed slowdown. The business surveys suggest that Q1’s 0.3... 6th May 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Polish MPC plays down talk of tightening Having left interest rates unchanged earlier today, the Polish MPC struck a dovish note at this afternoon’s press conference in an effort to temper the market’s expectations for interest rate hikes... 6th May 2015 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Kenyan interest rates held, hike likely later this year Kenya’s Monetary Policy Committee kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 8.50% today, but the Committee’s increasingly hawkish tone leads us to believe that rate hikes will come in late 2015... 6th May 2015 · 1 min read
BoE Watch Election just one reason to keep rates on hold We doubt that the Monetary Policy Committee would want to change monetary policy so close to a general election, especially when a new government might not even have been formed by the time of this... 5th May 2015 · 1 min read
