Latin America Economics Update Chile: next in the region to commence rate cuts? Chile’s central bank (CBC) kept interest rates at 5.25% last night. With the euro-zone debt crisis set to escalate in 2012, the CBC could be the next central bank in Latin America to commence rate... 14th December 2011 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Fed stands pat for now The Fed put off making changes to its communications strategy and potentially announcing a third round of quantitative easing until the new year. 13th December 2011 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus What should we expect from QE2? This was a neutral, steady-as-she-goes budget, with few implications for the macro-economy. From his speech, the Chancellor came across as wanting to be radical, but the measures failed to live up to... 13th December 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Will the Philippines continue to disappoint? The main cause of its weak performance has been low investment. Demographic factors should push the savings rate higher over the next decade, which should in turn support stronger investment and... 12th December 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korea and New Zealand central banks too sanguine The government in Vietnam has moved to restructure some of the country’s banks. This comes after a surge in lending in recent years, which has contributed to a rise in bad debt. The non-performing... 8th December 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB shatters hopes of a "silver bullet" While the ECB met expectations of a further cut in interest rates and greater support for banks today, it shattered hopes that it is about to fire a silver bullet into the heart of the debt crisis. 8th December 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Interest rates in Indonesia to come down further next year After cutting interest rates by a cumulative 75bp at its last two meetings, Bank Indonesia (BI) kept its key reference rate on hold today, as expected. However, with inflation continuing to fall and... 8th December 2011 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update More QE possible as soon as January Given that the £75bn of asset purchases announced in October has not been completed yet, today’s decision by the MPC to leave policy unchanged was unsurprising. However, the Committee has sent some... 8th December 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Entering another deep recession Hopes that euro-zone policymakers will hatch a new “grand plan” to save the euro-zone may have grown, but evidence is mounting that the region is on the cusp of another deep recession. In November... 8th December 2011 · 1 min read
US Fed Watch Fed to delay any action until early next year The announcement last Wednesday, of coordinated action by the Fed, ECB and other central banks to boost global dollar liquidity, will presumably have increased speculation that the Fed could take... 6th December 2011 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Bank of Canada rate cuts still likely next year The Bank of Canada's intention to hold its policy rate at 1% for the time being does not rule out interest rate cuts early next year. External headwinds are likely to blow even harder next year and... 6th December 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia’s central bank to cut again in February The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) lowered its cash rate by 25bp to 4.25% today. We see global growth slowing to a below-trend pace in 2012, which in turn should bring more policy loosening in... 6th December 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil: Interest rates to fall further as economy stalls The Brazilian economy stagnated in Q3 and looks set to contract in Q4. As we said it would be at the time, the central bank’s decision to cut interest rates early has been fully vindicated and the... 6th December 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Vietnam's central bank risks losing its credibility The central bank in Vietnam (SBV) is coming under pressure from the government to cut interest rates amid signs of slowing economic growth. However, with inflation at just under 20% y/y in November... 5th December 2011 · 1 min read
BoE Watch More QE to come after current purchases completed The MPC has sent some strong signals that further quantitative easing (QE) is likely before long. However, the £75bn of asset purchases voted for in October have not been completed yet. And the... 5th December 2011 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update FSR highlights growing risk of credit crunch The Bank of England’s Financial Stability Report (FSR) suggests that a second credit crunch might already be starting to hit the UK. A renewed tightening of credit conditions is just one reason to... 1st December 2011 · 1 min read
