Latin America Economics Update Crisis deepens in Brazil The economic and political troubles facing Brazil have deepened over the past few weeks. The good news is that we think the big falls in the prices of the country’s commodity exports are probably now... 6th August 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Emerging Market Consumer Snapshot (Q3 2015) The falls in commodity prices over the past year have caused consumer spending to slow in many commodity-exporting countries, with Russia and Brazil being hit particularly hard. Only consumers in... 6th August 2015 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Kenya: Rate hold does not signify end of tightening cycle Today’s decision by the Kenyan MPC to leave interest rates at 11.50% will give the economy a bit of breathing room, but we still expect that currency weakness will lead the CBK to hike rates to 13.00%... 6th August 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack More deflation on the way The UK is heading for a renewed period of deflation. The fall back in oil prices to below $50 per barrel will bear down on petrol prices soon. In addition, sterling has continued to appreciate and on... 5th August 2015 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Markit/CIPS Report on Services (Jul.) & GDP revisions The slight deterioration in July’s Markit/CIPS services survey is unlikely to dissuade two or three members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) from voting to raise interest rates at this week’s... 5th August 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Too soon to call the end of Thailand’s easing cycle The Bank of Thailand’s (BoT) kept its policy rate on hold at 1.5% today, but with the economy still struggling for momentum, we think it is still too early to call the end of the easing cycle. We... 5th August 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Data Response Romanian MPC sounding increasingly cautious Having left its policy interest rate on hold at 1.75% earlier today, the Romanian MPC used this afternoon’s press conference to suggest that the government’s plans to loosen fiscal policy raise the... 4th August 2015 · 1 min read
India Economics Update RBI's rate-cutting cycle not over yet The Reserve Bank of India's decision to keep interest rates on hold today does not signal the end of the current loosening cycle. We are forecasting one more 25bp cut in this cycle, which would bring... 4th August 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Chances of RBA rate cuts fading, but not disappearing The Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to leave interest rates on hold at 2.0% for a third consecutive month appears to diminish the chances that rates will eventually fall to 1.5% as we have been... 4th August 2015 · 1 min read
Bank of Japan Watch Q2 contraction to force policymakers’ hand The economy almost certainly contracted last quarter, rendering the Bank’s upbeat GDP forecasts increasingly unrealistic and denting hopes that inflation will reach 2% by next summer. Rather than... 4th August 2015 · 1 min read
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
