Latin America Economics Update Mexico: rate hike next month not yet a done deal We appreciate that we’re going out on a limb in saying this, but we don’t think that an interest rate hike next month in Mexico is necessarily the done deal that many now seem to assume. Indeed, a... 17th August 2015 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Defending currencies ultimately futile Many African central banks are running down scarce foreign exchange reserves in a doomed effort to defend overvalued currencies from painful adjustments. But with commodity prices likely to remain... 17th August 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Another look at Asia’s exposure to China The last week has been dominated by concerns that the People’s Bank of China was embarking on a competitive devaluation of the renminbi and fears that the Chinese economy might be heading for a “hard... 17th August 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly A storm in a China teacup? Headlines have recently been captured by last week’s shock move by the People’s Bank of China to lower the daily reference rate for the renminbi. However, we doubt that this will have much bearing on... 14th August 2015 · 1 min read
China Data Response Hong Kong GDP (Q2) Hong Kong’s GDP growth slowed last quarter, dragged down by a fall services exports and subdued consumer spending. Looking ahead, we expect growth to remain weak in the coming quarters as exports... 14th August 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Chile and Peru still happy to hold fire Interest rates in both Chile and Peru were left unchanged yesterday and policymakers in both countries are still giving little indication that they expect to tighten monetary policy anytime soon... 14th August 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Deflation Watch: Negative inflation will return soon CPI inflation probably held steady at zero in July, but the recent fall in oil prices suggests that the UK is likely to experience another bout of negative inflation before the end of the year... 14th August 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Interest rates in the Philippines to remain on hold for a while yet The central bank in the Philippines (BSP) today left its policy rate on hold at 4.0%. With growth set ton recover in the coming quarters, but inflation likely to remain low, we think the central bank... 13th August 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Greek GDP (Q2, Prov.) Q2’s Greek GDP figures brought some rare good news. But they relate to an entirely different economy than the one currently being strangled by capital controls. 13th August 2015 · 1 min read
China Economics Update RMB set to stabilise as PBOC counters devaluation claims Today’s PBOC press conference supports our view that the fall in the renminbi as a result of the shift to a new reference rate mechanism was a one-off and not an attempt to engineer a large scale... 13th August 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korean rates to stay on hold for a while yet The Bank of Korea (BoK) kept its policy rate unchanged at a record low of 1.50% today, despite talk of a fresh round of "currency wars" across Asia following the People's Bank of China's decision to... 13th August 2015 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Swedish Consumer Prices (Jul. 15) The rebound in Sweden’s headline inflation rate in July might suggest that the Riksbank won’t loosen monetary policy further at its next meeting. But the bigger picture is that inflation is still... 13th August 2015 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Will events in China force the Fed to delay US rate lift-off? The risk of a further market-driven slide in the Chinese renminbi and the renewed slump in global commodity prices, triggered by heightened concerns about the state of China’s economy, probably won’t... 12th August 2015 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Labour market data (Jun./Jul.) The latest labour market figures supported the current consensus view on the Monetary Policy Committee that interest rates do not need to rise before the end of the year. 12th August 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Talk of a fresh round of Asian "currency wars" is overblown The second downward revision to the People‘s Bank of China‘s daily reference rate for the renminbi has today intensified talk that a fresh round of “currency wars“ is about to sweep across Asia. We... 12th August 2015 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update How vulnerable are US Treasuries to banks’ waning demand? One factor that purportedly prevented US government bond yields from rising in 2014 was banks’ increased appetite for Treasuries, which has waned this year. While other factors could continue to exert... 12th August 2015 · 1 min read
