Global Markets Update End of QE not necessarily the end of the world Concerns about the potential impact of the end of quantitative easing ebb and flow, but we remain relatively sanguine. Detailed market forecasts will follow shortly in our quarterly publications, The... 23rd April 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Forint concerns limit scope for aggressive easing in Hungary Falling inflation and an economy struggling to escape from recession mean that further interest rate cuts are likely in Hungary. But we remain of the view that currency concerns will prevent... 23rd April 2013 · 1 min read
Bank of Japan Watch Credibility now requires higher inflation forecasts The focus at Friday’s meeting of the Policy Board will be on the new GDP and inflation forecasts to be published in the Bank’s “Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices”. Monetary policy itself was... 22nd April 2013 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Labour market weakness set to undermine spending The labour market’s recent deterioration threatens to nip the nascent recovery in consumer spending in the bud. Employment has begun to fall again and the forward-looking surveys suggest no imminent... 19th April 2013 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Consumption stimulus should not be welcomed Talk in China of new subsidies to boost household spending is an unwelcome sign that officials may have been diverted by the recent disappointing growth numbers towards thinking of short-term fixes... 18th April 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Focus Canada enjoying wealth advantage over US Based on our calculations of total domestic net worth, Canadians appears to be better off than their seemingly more affluent neighbours to the south. The problem is that the advantage Canada enjoys is... 18th April 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil tightening cycle to be smaller than most expect The decision by Brazil’s central bank to raise interest rates by 25bps – as opposed to the 50bps that was priced into the market – suggests that the tightening cycle is likely to be less aggressive... 18th April 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Bank of Canada sticks with rate tightening bias The Bank of Canada's decision to stick with its rate tightening bias, despite growing economic slack and below-target inflation, rests uncomfortably on its faith that economic growth will accelerate... 17th April 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Boost to confidence from “Abenomics” may be waning Consumer confidence rose in March, but by less than expected. What’s more, Japanese households may not view the prospect of an end to deflation quite as positively as businesses and investors. 17th April 2013 · 1 min read
UK Data Response MPC Minutes (Apr.) & Labour Market Data (Feb./Mar.) The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) still seems to be in a state of paralysis ahead of the new Governor’s arrival in July, despite indications that the weakness of the economy is finally starting to... 17th April 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Debt concerns still dominating the Riksbank’s thoughts The Swedish Riksbank’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged at 1.0% was no surprise given the recent run of encouraging economic data. But while the chances of an imminent cut have perhaps... 17th April 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi dollar peg here to stay for the long-term Concerns that Saudi Arabia’s dollar peg is no longer suitable in light of the country’s growing trade ties with Asia look wide of the mark. There are a myriad of other tools that Saudi policymakers... 17th April 2013 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update End of QE3 might not trigger a rise in UST term premiums One counter-argument to our view that the scaling back of QE3 would not trigger a rise in US Treasury yields is that "term premiums" would soar. However, the evidence is mixed. 16th April 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Singapore to keep monetary policy tight The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s decision to leave policy settings unchanged on Friday was no great surprise, given persistently high inflation. Despite the likelihood that growth will remain... 15th April 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey's phoney rate cut We expect the Central Bank of Turkey to cut its benchmark one-week repo rate for the first time in four months at next week’s MPC meeting. But the myriad of different tools now deployed by the Bank... 12th April 2013 · 1 min read
US Data Response Uni. of Mich. Consumer Confidence (Apr.) Coming after a weak retail sales report for March, the sharp drop in April's University of Michigan's index of consumer confidence to a nine-month low of 72.3, from 78.6, is another sign of a slowdown... 12th April 2013 · 1 min read
