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
Latin America Economics Update Brazilian interest rates heading for single digits The Brazilian Central Bank (BCB) cut interest rates by 50bps to 11.0% last night. The ongoing global turmoil, and subsequent negative impact on Brazilian growth, means that further rate cuts are... 1st December 2011 · 1 min read
ECB Watch Another rate cut, but no silver bullet The European Central Bank will respond to the growing evidence that the euro-zone economy is heading back into recession by cutting interest rates to 1% at its December 8th meeting. What’s more... 1st December 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Thailand's central bank to cut further The Bank of Thailand (BoT) lowered its policy rate by 25bp to 3.25% today in a bid to lift confidence and activity following recent floods. The economy is almost certain to contract in Q4 and weak... 30th November 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Indian economy slows, but worse is yet to come GDP figures released today confirm that India’s economy slowed sharply in the third quarter of this year, even before the latest drop in business surveys and exports. With tight monetary policy... 30th November 2011 · 1 min read
Bank of Canada Watch Bank of Canada's next move will be to cut policy rate Although the economy most likely rebounded in third quarter, by an estimated 2.9% annualised, it is widely expected that the Bank of Canada will hold its key policy interest rate at 1% next week. The... 29th November 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungary rate hike fails to impress the currency markets If this afternoon’s 50bps hike in Hungarian interest rates was intended to shore up the forint, the move has flopped. But in truth it was always likely that a far larger increase would be needed to... 29th November 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Interest rate cuts still likely in Peru as economy outperforms Data released today confirmed that Peru was among the region’s star performers in Q3 and is on track to expand by 7.0% this year. Nonetheless, with the outlook for the global economy deteriorating... 28th November 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Colombian interest rates still likely to fall next year The Central Bank of Colombia (BANREP) bucked the regional trend and raised interest rates by 25bps to 4.75% on Friday night. Nonetheless, with inflation now likely to have peaked, we suspect that this... 28th November 2011 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly Credit easing an important step, but no quick fix Credit easing marks an important step forward in the Government’s efforts to tackle the lack of bank lending. But it is unlikely to transform the near-term outlook for corporate lending. 28th November 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russian rates on hold despite growing squeeze on banks This morning’s decision by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) to keep its key interest rates unchanged was expected, but the accompanying statement suggests that policymakers are becoming increasingly... 25th November 2011 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egyptian rate hike: another by-product of the unrest Today’s rate hike by 100 bps to 9.25% is a clear sign that Egypt’s central bank is increasingly concerned over growing balance of payments strains and the risk of a currency crisis. Although the... 24th November 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkish tightening here to stay The Turkish central bank (CBRT) left its benchmark policy rate on hold today as expected, but the crucial point is that interest rates have already been hiked, albeit via the backdoor. Tighter... 23rd November 2011 · 1 min read
UK Data Response MPC Minutes (Nov.) The minutes of November’s MPC meeting supported last week’s dovish Inflation Report in suggesting that a further extension to the quantitative easing (QE) programme is not far off. More QE in February... 23rd November 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Room for manoeuvre The deepening crisis in the euro-zone, coupled with fears of a slowdown in China, has meant that concerns about overheating in Latin America’s major economies have quickly given way to worries over... 21st November 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank of Thailand set to loosen monetary policy Thailand’s Q3 GDP data show that the economy was struggling even before the flood situation worsened in late October. With activity weak, confidence flagging and fears for the global economy... 21st November 2011 · 1 min read
