Asia Economics Update Further tightening likely in the Philippines The central bank in the Philippines (BSP) hiked its main policy rate earlier today for the first time in over three years in a further attempt to reduce risks in the financial sector and clamp down on... 31st July 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Chart Pack Tightening cycles have further to run The tightening cycles that began in Ghana and South Africa earlier this year continued in July and, in both cases, we think that further interest rate hikes are likely before the end of 2014. Ghana’s... 31st July 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economic Outlook North Africa getting back on its feet Three years on from the “Arab Spring” uprisings, the tide is turning in favour of the economies of North Africa. Admittedly, there are still many challenges, not least reining in large twin current... 31st July 2014 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Fed continues with gradual QE tapering The Fed's policy announcement was largely as expected, with the monthly asset purchases reduced by an additional $10bn, to $25bn per month. But subtle changes to the statement and Philadelphia Fed... 30th July 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Property price worries prompt rate hikes The central banks of New Zealand, the Philippines and Malaysia all tightened monetary policy last month amid signs that policymakers are becoming increasingly concerned that loose monetary policy is... 30th July 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Weak Chile activity data point to further interest rate cuts Chile’s activity data for June point to GDP growth of just 2.3% y/y in Q2, an outturn that would mark the third consecutive quarter of sub-3% growth. With the economic outlook unlikely to improve in... 30th July 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Chart Pack Interest rates heading in opposite directions The Russian central bank caused a surprise earlier this month by hiking its one-week repo rate in a pre-emptive move to limit capital outflows ahead of a fresh sanctions imposed by the US and EU. This... 30th July 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro’s fall provides glimmer of hope, but more needed The euro finally appears to be succumbing to the downward pressure implied by the divergentprospects for monetary policy in the US and euro-zone. But bigger declines are likely to be needed tokick... 30th July 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone EC Survey & ECB Bank Lending Survey (Jul.) July’s tiny rise in the EC’s Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) suggests that the eurozonerecovery is unlikely to strengthen much in Q3. 30th July 2014 · 1 min read
Global Central Bank Watch Should central banks target financial stability? There have been calls in recent months for centralbanks to use interest rates in order to dampen assetprice inflation and to contain the risks which somethink are re-emerging in the financial sector... 30th July 2014 · 1 min read
US Chart Pack Widening trade deficit due to strong domestic demand Although the trade deficit has widened in recent months, the increase is largely due to the strength of imports rather than the weakness of exports. Our calculations suggest that exports increased at... 29th July 2014 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Inflation likely to peak before end of this year The recent pick-up in inflation has led some people to question the Bank of Canada's neutral stance on interest rates, but we think these concerns are misplaced. The recent increase in headline... 28th July 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Fuel subsidy reform an early test for Indonesia’s Jokowi Financial markets have welcomed the election of Joko Widodo as Indonesia’s president, but there is still great uncertainty over his policy priorities and his ability to push through his own agenda. Mr... 28th July 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Monetary Indicators Monitor (Jun.) Although June’s euro-zone monetary data showed some further signs of improvement, lending is still falling and the data point to a significant risk of deflation in the region. 25th July 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Surprise Russia rate hike a response to geopolitics not inflation Russia’s central bank justified its surprise decision to hike interest rates this morning on stubbornly high inflation, but it’s pretty clear that this is a pre-emptive move to limit capital outflows... 25th July 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Chart Pack Argentina teeters on the brink of another default With talks between Buenos Aires and holdout bondholders seemingly having stalled, it appears increasingly likely that Argentina will be prevented from making an interest payment that is due on... 25th July 2014 · 1 min read
