Bank of Japan Watch Board downplaying dangers of soft domestic demand The Bank of Japan’s Policy Board will conclude its September meeting next Wednesday (19th), and is likely to leave policy settings unchanged despite concerns about the economic environment. The fact... 13th September 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russian policymakers focussed on inflation risks for now The surprise decision this afternoon by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) to hike interest rates reflects growing concerns over rising inflation among policymakers. Another hike in rates is possible by... 13th September 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank of Korea likely to cut again The Bank of Korea (BoK) unexpectedly held its policy rate at 3% today. Nevertheless, we still believe that global growth will continue to disappoint and that more policy stimulus will be needed to... 13th September 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update New Zealand’s cash rate still likely to be cut The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) kept its policy rate at 2.5% today, as was widely anticipated. Most analysts expect the Bank to embark on significant policy tightening next year. In contrast... 13th September 2012 · 1 min read
Canada Chart Pack High household debt difficult to hurdle Households have been running a financial deficit for over a decade, a significant departure from their normal role as net savers, resulting in a massive increase in household debt. This trend has... 12th September 2012 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Nominal GDP targeting remains a distant prospect Professor Michael Woodford's recent academic paper presented at the Fed's Jackson Hole conference is still making waves, not surprisingly given his conclusions that quantitative easing doesn't work... 12th September 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Peruvian monetary policy bias gets a little tighter Peru kept rates on hold last night, but a moderate tightening bias may emerge in the months ahead. As it happens, we suspect that rates will remain unchanged for the rest of 2012 as a stronger growth... 7th September 2012 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Swedish rate cut unlikely to be the last We doubt that the latest interest rate reduction by the Riksbank will be the last in the cycle. If the euro-zone debt crisis intensifies as we expect, interest rates may eventually fall well below 1%. 6th September 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt’s rates on hold, although easing could come soon While Egypt’s central bank kept rates on hold today, the government’s progress towards securing a deal with the IMF means that the easing cycle could start sooner rather than later. 6th September 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Positive reaction to ECB could prove short-lived The confirmation that the ECB is prepared to buy “unlimited” quantities of peripheral government bonds looks encouraging at face value. But the details reveal that the Bank has not upped its policy... 6th September 2012 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Weak economy to prompt more stimulus by end of year The MPC’s decision to leave policy on hold today was unsurprising and may partly have reflected a desire to wait to see what comes out of today’s ECB meeting. We still expect more asset purchases to... 6th September 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia’s policy conundrum Policymakers in Russia are likely to find themselves in something of a bind over the coming months – while growth is starting to slow, inflation looks set to accelerate. For now it seems that... 6th September 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia on hold this year, but rate cut likely in 2013 Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) kept its policy rate on hold today at 3%, as was widely expected. The economy has shaken off the global slowdown better than almost any in Asia, meaning there is little... 6th September 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Swedish rate cut unlikely to be the last We doubt that the latest interest rate reduction by the Riksbank will be the last in the cycle. If the euro-zone debt crisis intensifies as we expect, interest rates may eventually fall well below 1%. 6th September 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Polish rate cut on the cards for next month Today’s post-MPC press conference gave the clearest sign yet that the National Bank of Poland (NBP) is set to start cutting interest rates in order to counter the recent downturn in the economy. We... 5th September 2012 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Bank persists with tightening bias The Bank of Canada continues to insist that its policy rate will eventually need to rise from the current 1.0%, even as the global economic slowdown intensifies and the domestic housing boom shows... 5th September 2012 · 1 min read
