Asia Economics Update Rupee decline highlights India’s fundamental weaknesses Talk of “policy tapering” by the Federal Reserve has been the catalyst for a broad-based sell-off in emerging market currencies. Within Asia, the worst performer has been the rupee. Its decline... 12th June 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey’s ROM - not working as hoped The Turkish central bank’s much-vaunted “reserve option mechanism” doesn’t appear to have smoothed movements in the currency, as had been hoped. This means that the Bank may have to rely on more... 12th June 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Further hikes in Indonesia's Fasbi rate likely before year-end Bank Indonesia’s decision today to hike the rate it pays lenders on overnight deposits (also known as the Fasbi rate) reflects concerns about the weakness of the rupiah and falls in the level of... 12th June 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Uruguay's revamped inflation strategy still looks flawed Changes to Uruguay’s monetary policy regime, including a shift towards monetarism, are unlikely to be a panacea for the country’s inflation problems. Without tighter economic policy and efforts to... 11th June 2013 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Real pay under pressure, however you measure it The Trades Union Congress grabbed headlines today with its analysis showing a dramatic drop in pay over the past five years. Although we believe the fall in wages is not quite as bad as reported, the... 11th June 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Households looking increasingly healthy The Fed’s latest US Financial Accounts (formerly known as the Flow of Funds Accounts) highlight that in a few years’ time, US households will be well placed to contribute to a prolonged period of... 11th June 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Bank of Japan declines to panic The Bank of Japan’s Policy Board was content simply to upgrade its economic assessment today. This disappointed those hoping for further monetary easing in response to the recent volatility in... 11th June 2013 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Sector insight: clothing Consumers have shown tremendous zeal for buying clothes over the last decade, despite the recession and the squeeze on their incomes. But they have been teased into the shops by falling prices. We... 10th June 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Ignatiev keeps rates on hold in last CBR meeting Sergey Ignatiev ended his tenure as governor of the CBR by leaving key interest rates on hold today but, with inflation on course to fall over the second half of the year and Mr. Ignatiev’s successor... 10th June 2013 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Rebound remains elusive The key message from China’s May data is that there is no clear evidence of an economic rebound getting underway. Most of the commentary has focused on the impact on exports of more stringent controls... 10th June 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Time running out for policymakers' hopes of rebalancing It is becoming more clear that sluggish global demand and volatile commodity prices will outlast the willingness and ability of households' to provide debt-fuelled support to economic growth. Without... 10th June 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Surveys show faith in "Abenomics" remains high The economic data have started the week on a brighter note. Admittedly, the upward revision to Q1 GDP is largely old news and the detail is less positive. However, the May readings on consumer... 10th June 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB keeps its options open After leaving interest rates on hold, the ECB left the door open to more policy support, suggesting that more LTROs, negative deposit rates, forward policy guidance and stimulation for Asset-Backed... 6th June 2013 · 1 min read
Bank of Japan Watch What more could (or should) the Bank of Japan do now? The Bank of Japan’s two-day June meeting (which concludes on Tuesday) is unlikely to result in any major policy changes. The Board will probably discuss tweaks to its money market operations and asset... 6th June 2013 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Mr Carney has work to do despite signs of recovery Mervyn King left his last Monetary Policy Committee meeting with his wish to restart the quantitative easing programme unfulfilled and the Committee still seemingly stuck in a state of limbo ahead of... 6th June 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Uganda: interest rates unlikely to fall much below 10% Today’s decision from the Bank of Uganda to cut interest rates by 100bp to 11% is probably not a one-off. But, with inflation picking up and the shilling likely to come under pressure, we doubt that... 6th June 2013 · 1 min read
