RBNZ Watch New Zealand - Pausing for breath Although the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) will probably leave interest rates on hold at 2.75% at the policy meeting on Thursday 29 th October, this will just be a pause in the loosening cycle... 22nd October 2015 · 1 min read
Global Markets Outlook Brighter times may lie ahead for emerging market assets We think the future for most emerging markets is brighter than generally believed. Their poor performance has been a function of close ties with troubled China, heavy reliance on exports of... 21st October 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Bank of Canada turning more dovish The Bank of Canada’s decision to hold its policy rate at 0.50% was as expected given that the economy most likely returned to positive growth in the third quarter. The uncertain outlook, however... 21st October 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkish MPC belatedly acknowledges dire inflation outlook The Turkish MPC left its key interest rates unchanged today, but the accompanying press release suggests that the Council may finally have recognised that inflation is set to rise further. This... 21st October 2015 · 1 min read
Africa Data Response South Africa Consumer Prices (Sep.) Last month’s weaker-than-expected South African inflation reading, of 4.6% y/y, coming alongside the recent rally in the rand, makes next month’s Reserve Bank rate decision a close call. But with... 21st October 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungarian MPC pledges to keep policy loose for longer The National Bank of Hungary’s MPC kept its policy interest rate unchanged at 1.35% earlier today, but the Council used the accompanying press release to commit to keeping interest rates on hold at... 20th October 2015 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Uganda hikes rates as inflation spikes, policy to stay tight The Bank of Uganda’s decision to hike its policy interest rate by a further 100bp, to 17.0%, today appears to be a response to the sharp pick-up in inflation in September. The bulk of the monetary... 20th October 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Rate hikes likely in Sri Lanka next year The central bank in Sri Lanka (CBSL) today kept its deposit and lending rates unchanged at 6.0% and 7.5%, respectively, despite headline inflation having been negative for the last three months. This... 20th October 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Is Finance Minister Aso the Bank of Japan’s new oracle? Finance Minister Aso has been downplaying the chances of further monetary stimulus. But given that Japan’s government has previously argued that “surprise” is a key element of effective monetary... 19th October 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Inflation targeting policy not enough Canada’s inflation target agreement between the Federal government and the Bank of Canada is up for renewal next year and the conventional wisdom is that it doesn’t need fixing. In contrast, we think... 16th October 2015 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Odds of a rate hike this year even lower now The likelihood of the Fed hiking interest rates before the end of this year tumbled again last week, as the incoming data triggered some sizeable downgrades to estimates of third-quarter GDP growth... 16th October 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Italian and Irish budgets highlight contrasting fortunes While in last week’s Budget the Irish Government talked up its proposed tax cuts, the big picture was one of continued fiscal consolidation. All else equal, this will drag on growth. But Ireland’s... 16th October 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Chile’s tightening cycle to be brief Chile’s decision to raise interest rates last night is likely to be followed by another hike soon, but the bigger picture is that the tightening cycle is likely to be short. Meanwhile, although the... 16th October 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Deflation: Exit ahead The latest warnings that deflation is a major cause for concern in Emerging Asia are wide of the mark. In fact, we think inflation will be back in positive territory across the entire region by early... 16th October 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economic Outlook The changing shape of the UK economy - The winners and the losers Beneath the surface, it is clear that the economic recovery has not been firing on all cylinders recently. And the recovery faces a number of headwinds over the next year or so – in particular the re... 16th October 2015 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Return to deflation should be brief Headline inflation fell below zero in a number of major economies in September, but we expect the latest bout of deflation to be short-lived. That said, the further drop in inflation expectations in... 15th October 2015 · 1 min read
