Japan Economics Update Bank of Japan's forecasts too sanguine The revised growth forecasts published today by the Bank of Japan’s Policy Board do not, in our opinion, adequately reflect the damage caused by the recent natural disaster. This is probably due to a... 28th April 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update RBNZ to resume tightening by year-end As expected, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) left its policy rate on hold at 2.5% today, after cutting by 50bp last month in response to the Christchurch earthquakes. Admittedly, the RBNZ will... 28th April 2011 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Fed in no hurry to tighten policy In his first post-FOMC meeting press conference, Chairman Ben Bernanke gave the impression that the Fed is in no hurry to tighten monetary policy. 27th April 2011 · 1 min read
Bank of Japan Watch GDP forecasts to be cut, but not by enough The Bank of Japan’s Policy Board is certain to cut its GDP forecasts for the current fiscal year on Thursday, but not, we think, by enough to reflect the full impact of the recent disaster. Nor are... 26th April 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey: No surprises from the new Governor Today’s decision by the Central Bank of Turkey to keep interest rates on hold at 6.25% but raise bank reserve requirements on short-term lira and FX deposits is a clear signal that there will be no... 21st April 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update BCB still in a bind Last night’s decision by the Brazilian Central Bank (BCB) to raise interest rates by a smaller-thanexpected 25bps illustrates the bind that policymakers currently find themselves in: how do you tackle... 21st April 2011 · 1 min read
US Fed Watch Bernanke steps into brave new world The conclusion of next week's two-day FOMC meeting on Wednesday will mark the start of a brave new world, with Chairman Ben Bernanke scheduled to host the Fed's first post-meeting press conference. We... 20th April 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update More monetary tightening to come in Thailand The Bank of Thailand (BoT) hiked its policy rate by 25bp to 2.75% today, as was universally expected. As with elsewhere in the region, keeping a lid on inflation remains the key concern for... 20th April 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Currency wars take a back seat... for now Concerns over rising inflation have displaced fears about speculative capital inflows and excessive currency appreciation at the top of the list of policy priorities. Interest rates look set to rise... 20th April 2011 · 1 min read
UK Data Response MPC Minutes (Apr.) The dovish tone of the minutes of April’s MPC meeting has further reduced the chances of a rise in interest rates at next month’s meeting. If the recent weaker tone of the economic data is sustained... 20th April 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Poles apart As expected, Hungarian policymakers kept interest rates unchanged at 6.00% for the third consecutive meeting today. As in the Czech Republic, we now expect rates to remain on hold into 2012. However... 18th April 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Why are Brazilian interest rates so high? One of the questions that we are most frequently asked is why are Brazilian interest rates so high? We think that the answer lies in the fact that fiscal policy is too loose and, more generally, that... 18th April 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Bank of Thailand set to hike again The Bank of Thailand (BoT) announces its policy rate decision on Wednesday and we expect the repo rate to be raised by 25bp for the fourth meeting in a row, to 2.75%. Prospects for domestic demand... 18th April 2011 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly Inflation drop gives MPC some breathing space March’s fall in CPI inflation has given the doves on the MPC some welcome relief in the run-up to the Committee’s crucial May meeting. Granted, it is far too early to proclaim that the inflation... 18th April 2011 · 1 min read
China Economics Update What should we make of the new financing measure? The People’s Bank today launched a new measure of financing conditions. In this Update we outline what the new measure is and how useful we expect it to be. 14th April 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update What should we make of the new CBRT governor? The appointment of Erdem Basci as the new Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey will no doubt lead to concerns about increased government influence over monetary policy. While these concerns are... 14th April 2011 · 1 min read
