ECB Watch QE expansion coming soon if not this month Recent comments from Governing Council members suggest that the ECB may not be ready to increase its policy support when it meets on 22nd October. But President Draghi is likely to reiterate concerns... 15th October 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank Indonesia likely to cut rates before end-2015 The recent rebound in the rupiah was never likely to be enough to persuade Bank Indonesia (BI) to loosen policy, and today’s decision to leave interest rates on hold at 7.5% was no great surprise... 15th October 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Sweden’s labour recovery won’t stop Riksbank cutting The improvement in Sweden’s labour market in recent months has exceeded consensus expectations and those of the Riksbank. But conditions are still far from healthy and wage growth remains subdued... 15th October 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank of Korea to keep rates on prolonged hold Against a backdrop of gradual recovery in the domestic economy, the Bank of Korea (BoK) left its policy rate unchanged at a record low of 1.50% today. We expect the BoK to keep rates on hold for the... 15th October 2015 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Sweden’s labour recovery won’t stop Riksbank cutting The improvement in Sweden’s labour market in recent months has exceeded consensus expectations and those of the Riksbank. But conditions are still far from healthy and wage growth remains subdued... 15th October 2015 · 1 min read
Bank of Canada Watch Bank likely to be more guarded against global risks We expect the Bank of Canada to hold its policy rate at 0.50% next week and retain its neutral stance on the rate outlook. The incoming data indicate that third-quarter GDP growth was stronger than... 14th October 2015 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Labour market data (Aug./Sep.) The latest labour market statistics confirmed that the jobs recovery is back on track after the dip in employment in the spring. Meanwhile, the easing in pay growth has further reduced the case for a... 14th October 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Singapore unlikely to loosen policy again The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today opted to “reduce slightly” the slope of its target band for the nominal effective exchange rate (NEER), which amounts to very modest loosening of its... 14th October 2015 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Are bond investors wrong about the prospects for Fed policy? We expect the Bank of Canada to hold its policy rate at 0.50% next week and retain its neutral stance on the rate outlook. The incoming data indicate that third-quarter GDP growth was stronger than... 13th October 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Swedish Consumer Prices (Sep.) The small rise in Sweden’s headline inflation rate in September to just above zero may be just about enough to prevent the Riksbank from loosening policy further at the end of this month. But we still... 13th October 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economic Outlook Global uncertainty adds to downside risks The European economy has performed relatively well over recent months amid financial market unrest and signs of a slowdown elsewhere. But the euro-zone’s exporters are still not benefitting from the... 13th October 2015 · 1 min read
India Economics Update What can the RBI do to get banks to lower interest rates? Having cut the repo rate by 125bp this year, the RBI has shifted its focus to ensuring that banks pass on these rate reductions to borrowers. In truth, high levels of bad debt mean that the banking... 13th October 2015 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Swedish Consumer Prices (Sep.15) The small rise in Sweden’s headline inflation rate in September to just above zero maybe just about enough to prevent the Riksbank from loosening policy further at the end of this month. But we still... 13th October 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economic Outlook Emerging Asia set for recovery The jump in Egyptian inflation to 9.2% y/y in September was driven almost entirely by a rise in the volatile food component. While we do expect inflation to fall back again, last month’s data mean an... 12th October 2015 · 1 min read
DM Valuations Monitor Is the New Zealand dollar still overvalued? The Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) is likely to update its estimates of fundamental equilibrium exchange rates (FEERs) next month. We suspect that these will show that the New... 9th October 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly Is the recovery running out of steam? A raft of gloomy survey data has fuelled fears that the UK’s economic recovery is running out of steam. There are some indications that quarterly GDP growth will moderate from 0.7% in Q2 to 0.5% or so... 9th October 2015 · 1 min read