Latin America Economics Update Brazilian rates heading back to 2009 low The decision by the Brazilian Central Bank (BCB) to accelerate the pace of interest rate cuts reflects mounting concerns among policymakers about the sustainability of Brazil’s “twin-speed” growth... 8th March 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Polish rates: debate to turn to cuts this year Today the National Bank of Poland (NBP) pushed up its 2012 inflation forecast which, on the face of it, is likely to provide further support to the argument that any move in interest rates this year... 7th March 2012 · 1 min read
Canada Chart Pack Economic growth likely to slow further in 2012 Canada's economy grew by 2.5% in 2011, down from the 3.2% rebound in the year before. Both households and businesses contributed 1.5 percentage points to overall growth last year. While the government... 7th March 2012 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update 0.5% rates - 3 years down, another 3 to go? Tomorrow’s MPC meeting marks the third anniversary of interest rates reaching a record low of just 0.5% in March 2009. We think that they could stay at this level for another three years. 7th March 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Consumer outlook darkens The prospect of stronger growth in the euro-zone economy has been dented by a slew of bad news on the consumer sector. Not only did household spending contract by 0.4% in the last quarter of 2011 -... 7th March 2012 · 1 min read
US Fed Watch Fed waiting to see which way the recovery breaks Next Tuesday's FOMC meeting (13th March) is expected to be a quiet affair, with Fed officials waiting to see whether the recent improvement evident in the labour market develops into a more vigorous... 6th March 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Rates cut in Vietnam to help struggling banking sector The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) today announced that it would be reducing its key policy rate “over the next few days”. The cut comes after sharp falls in inflation over the past six months and is... 6th March 2012 · 1 min read
BoE Watch MPC losing appetite for more QE Having only just extended its quantitative easing programme by £50bn at last month’s meeting, the MPC is very unlikely to do anything at this week’s meeting. What’s more, comments by Committee members... 5th March 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Policymakers in wait-and-see mode The trend in Asia has been towards loosening policy recently. However, signs of stronger global growth and the pick-up in oil prices are likely to persuade central banks across the region to keep... 5th March 2012 · 1 min read
ECB Watch Credit crunch risks have not evaporated Having agreed to forego profits on its Greek government bonds and pumped billions more into the banking system over the past month, the ECB is unlikely to announce any major policy changes at its... 1st March 2012 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Rise in oil prices presents new threat to recovery The rise in energy prices adds to the reasons to be cautious about assuming that the recent pick-up in the economic recovery will continue. 1st March 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Weak growth prompts further rate cut in the Philippines The Philippines central bank (BSP) cut its policy rate by a further 25bp to 4.0% today, taking the overnight rate back to the trough of the previous cycle. Lower interest rates are needed to support... 1st March 2012 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Feb.) The broad money supply bounced back in January, suggesting that the extreme weakness at the end of last year was just temporary. But the underlying trend still looks too weak to support a sustained... 29th February 2012 · 1 min read
Bank of Canada Watch More policy stimulus expected in the second half of this year While it is widely expected that the Bank of Canada will maintain its policy interest rate at 1% next week, with the same decision now likely at the next meeting in April too, we still think that the... 29th February 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungarian rates on hold as NBH stays in “wait and see” mode The decision by the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) today to keep interest rates on hold at 7% was widely expected, with a narrow majority of policymakers now seemingly willing to wait and see whether... 28th February 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Rate cuts are coming in Vietnam Falling inflation gives the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) scope to cut interest rates to support growth. However, large cuts could end up destabilising the fragile economy. The SBV will need to be... 27th February 2012 · 1 min read
