Latin America Economics Update Few surprises as BCB signals further easing to come There were few surprises from Brazilian policymakers last night as they cut interest rates by 50bps to 10.50% and signalled further easing to come. Despite tentative signs that the economy has picked... 19th January 2012 · 1 min read
US Fed Watch Fed prepares to step into brave new world The Fed has already announced that it will be making some major changes to its monetary policy framework at the two-day FOMC meeting that concludes next Wednesday (25th January). Those changes will... 18th January 2012 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Bank of Canada still likely to cut rates In its policy statement today the Bank of Canada maintained both its key policy interest at 1% and its wait-and-see policy approach. Although the Bank judges that weaker external factors are offset by... 17th January 2012 · 1 min read
Global Economic Outlook Farewell to the euro The euro-zone is slipping into a recession which we expect to be deep and prolonged and to result in the break-up of the single currency area. This will be a major drag on other European economies... 16th January 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Bank of Korea to cut by mid-year The Bank of Korea (BoK) has become increasingly worried about the growth outlook, but lingering inflation concerns are dissuading the central bank from loosening policy. We believe that inflation is... 16th January 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Chile cuts interest rates as growth cools The Central Bank of Chile (CBC) trimmed its benchmark interest rate by 25bps to 5.0% last night following recent signs of a slowdown in growth. By contrast, Peru’s strong consumer activity and rising... 13th January 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB stands firm on bond purchases The ECB today maintained both the level of official interest rates and its opposition to calls for it to take more decisive action to tackle the euro-zone’s debt crisis. 12th January 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Inflation risks are a concern in Indonesia Bank Indonesia (BI), kept its reference rate on hold today, as expected, after cutting rates by a cumulative 75bp in the final quarter of 2011. Despite the likelihood that inflation will accelerate... 12th January 2012 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update More QE likely next month The MPC’s decision to leave policy unchanged today was as expected, given that the last of the £75bn of asset purchases decided upon in October is still being completed. However, next month should see... 12th January 2012 · 1 min read
Bank of Canada Watch More policy stimulus likely before second half of this year While it is widely expected that the Bank of Canada will keep its policy interest rate at 1% on Tuesday next week, we still think that further policy stimulus is around the corner and expect its... 11th January 2012 · 1 min read
Bank of Canada Watch More policy stimulus likely before second half of this year While it is widely expected that the Bank of Canada will keep its policy interest rate at 1% on Tuesday next week, we still think that further policy stimulus is around the corner and expect its... 11th January 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Divergences widen Some of the euro-zone’s survey indicators have ticked up in the past month. However, they almost unanimously warn of a renewed recession in the region, with the composite PMI, for example, pointing to... 11th January 2012 · 1 min read
BoE Watch MPC just biding time until next month The MPC looks unlikely to do anything more while the asset purchases which began in October are still underway, especially given the recent slight improvement in the economic data. However, we doubt... 9th January 2012 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Fed taking further steps into policy unknown In addition to forecasting interest rates for the first time, by the end of this month the Fed may have adopted numerical targets for both inflation and the unemployment rate and perhaps even launched... 9th January 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil meets inflation target by the skin of its teeth Perhaps a little against the odds, the Brazilian Central Bank (BCB) just about met its inflation target last year as headline inflation slowed to 6.5% in December. Although it may be sticky, inflation... 6th January 2012 · 1 min read
ECB Watch ECB to continue to resist bigger bond purchases After two consecutive cuts in interest rates, the European Central Bank (ECB) looks set to hold fire at its first policy meeting of 2012 on January 12th. And while further interest rate cuts are still... 6th January 2012 · 1 min read
