Bank of Japan Watch Growth deceleration to trigger more easing by October The strength of Q1 GDP seems to have vindicated the Bank of Japan’s optimistic outlook on the economy. However, we think that growth will be much slower in the rest of the year, so inflation is... 15th June 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly Is the Chancellor’s budget surplus law a step too far? Last week’s announcement by the Chancellor that he intends to pass a law to require all future governments to run a budget surplus “in normal times” engendered more accusations that he is playing... 12th June 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Policymakers in Chile and Peru likely to hold fire until 2016 Interest rates in Chile and Peru were left unchanged last night and with both economies in the early stages of recovery, policymakers are likely to delay rate hikes until next year, even if the Fed... 12th June 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly What next for New Zealand interest rates and the dollar? The decision by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) to cut rates to 3.25% leaves our prediction that rates will be 3.0% by the end of the year on track and has helped achieve one of our other... 12th June 2015 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update A selection of our key calls (advanced economies) This note summarises our key calls for the advanced economies and markets, emphasising where we differ from the consensus. Detailed projections (with specific numbers) are available in our regular... 11th June 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update New Zealand - Rates may eventually fall below 3% While today's interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), to 3.25% from 3.50%, came a bit earlier than we expected, towards the start of the year we were one of the few analysts... 11th June 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update MERS threat triggers rate cut in Korea, further cuts difficult The Bank of Korea (BoK) today cut its policy rate to a new record low of 1.50% amid growing economic risks from the recent outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). But the hurdle for... 11th June 2015 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Swedish Consumer Prices (May. 15) Although Sweden’s headline inflation rate nudged up in May, the big picture is that it remains very low in spite of the Riksbank’s aggressive policy easing. As such, the central bank will need to do... 11th June 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Latin America & Fed tightening: risks revisited Several economies in Latin America have large current account deficits that could leave them vulnerable as and when the Fed starts to raise interest rates. The risks in Brazil are, by now, well known... 10th June 2015 · 1 min read
US Fed Watch Fed on track for September lift-off With the incoming data now showing a clear pick-up in real economic growth and possible signs of an acceleration in wage growth and core price inflation, we expect the Fed to begin hiking interest... 10th June 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Iceland’s Sedlabanki begins hiking cycle Iceland’s central bank raised its main interest rates by 50bp today, as expected, in what looks likely to be the beginning of a tightening cycle designed to counter strong domestic demand growth and... 10th June 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Thailand holds rates, but further easing can't be ruled out yet The Bank of Thailand's (BoT) decision to keep interest rates unchanged at 1.50% today came as no surprise, but with the economy still in a fragile state it is too soon to call the end of the easing... 10th June 2015 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Iceland’s Sedlabanki begins hiking cycle Iceland’s central bank raised its main interest rates by 50bp today, as expected, in what looks likely to be the beginning of a tightening cycle designed to counter strong domestic demand growth and... 10th June 2015 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Kenya hikes rates to shore up shilling Kenya’s Monetary Policy Committee hiked its key interest rate by 150bps today, a clear attempt to signal that the bank is serious about curbing high inflation and protecting the rapidly-depreciating... 9th June 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkish rate hikes back on table amid post-election uncertainty The Turkish lira has stabilised today, but it remains vulnerable to further weakness. Faced with another leg down, we think the central bank might in the first instance lower the FX depo rate or scale... 9th June 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update What next for crisis-stricken Venezuela? With Venezuela’s economic crisis intensifying, attention is starting to focus on how the country might get out of this mess. Two options have been suggested in recent weeks – one is the establishment... 9th June 2015 · 1 min read
