Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia: fiscal policy to support modest pick-up in growth Fiscal policy exerted a big drag on the Russian economy last year and in Q1 of this year, but there are signs that the fiscal stance is now becoming less restrictive. This should support a modest... 22nd May 2019 · 1 min read
India Chart Pack Modi on the cusp of victory Exit polls signal that Prime Minister Modi’s BJP and its coalition partners in the National Democratic Alliance have won India’s election. Admittedly, exit polls have been wrong in the past, not least... 21st May 2019 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update What does the Coalition victory mean for Australia? The Coalition government’s surprise victory in the federal election won’t make much of a difference for fiscal policy in the near-term but will result in smaller surpluses beyond 2022. It also... 20th May 2019 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response GDP (Q1 Preliminary) The surprising resilience of the economy at the start of the year means that GDP growth will be stronger this year than we had anticipated. It also suggests that the government will press ahead with... 20th May 2019 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Bunds rally amid trade tensions and Italian fiscal risks Developments this week suggest that Italy’s government is on another collision course with the European Commission. Meanwhile, the risk of US car tariffs has eased, but it has not disappeared. Finally... 17th May 2019 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly CEE GDP, Turkey fiscal stimulus & Russian tainted oil An impressive batch of GDP data from Central and Eastern Europe, released this week, added to the evidence that strong domestic demand is offsetting external weakness. Elsewhere, Turkey’s budget... 17th May 2019 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Italy is heading for another clash with the EU Recent comments by Italy’s deputy prime minister have increased the risk that Italy is placed in an EU disciplinary procedure later this year. There are a few ways that talks about Italy’s fiscal... 16th May 2019 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Pakistan: IMF deal to cause growth to slow Pakistan’s agreement with the IMF is likely to lead to slower growth and higher inflation in the short term. However, policy tightening and structural reforms should lead to an improvement in the... 14th May 2019 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Kenya: More railway problems, commercial debt worries The latest changes to Kenya’s railway plan have focused attention on the Chinese-funded SGR project. But the country’s real debt problems surround its growing eurobond sales, which will increase with... 14th May 2019 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Focus How will policymakers respond to the next downturn? If the next downturn is a mild, cyclical one we would expect the Bank of Japan to cut its short-term policy rate but leave its 10-year yield target unchanged. Fiscal stimulus would probably have to do... 14th May 2019 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Zambia: Sliding towards a debt crisis Zambia’s public debt position has long been untenable, but the situation is now escalating. The country faces the choice between fiscal tightening (possibly as part of an IMF debt deal) or a more... 10th May 2019 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Monetary policy and inflation targets The RBA left rates on hold this week while the RBNZ cut. That’s odd as the case for a rate cut looks much stronger in Australia. In any case, we think that rates will need to fall in Australia as well... 10th May 2019 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Little chance of a much bigger fiscal stimulus On current plans, national governments in the euro-zone will deliver a modest fiscal stimulus worth around 0.5% of GDP during 2019 and 2020 combined. Hopes that it might be scaled up significantly... 9th May 2019 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil’s pension reform: entering choppy waters… Opposition to Brazil’s pension reform has, so far, been limited to fairly minor components of the bill. But it will face more substantial resistance in the coming months. Ultimately, our sense is that... 9th May 2019 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Bahrain’s fiscal woes, Tadawul falls, PMIs positive Developments in Bahrain over the past week suggest that the government is backtracking on its commitment to fiscal austerity. We doubt that the other Gulf countries will withdraw their support but, if... 9th May 2019 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey: Istanbul election re-run poses stimulus risks The decision to cancel and re-run the Istanbul mayoral election is likely to prompt the Turkish government to continue loosening fiscal policy in the coming weeks. Past experience suggests that the... 7th May 2019 · 1 min read
