Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Fiscal Monitor (May) The latest euro-zone fiscal data showed that most of the peripheral countries made fiscal progress at the start of Q2, after a mixed performance in Q1. But Greece’s position is still looking... 2nd June 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Greek deal unlikely to tackle debt mountain Last night’s meeting between Greece’s creditors may have been an important step towards reaching a proposal to release the country’s final bailout payment. But the risk of failure is still high and... 2nd June 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Capital Expenditure (Q1) The Ministry of Finance’s survey on corporate finances suggests that business investment was stronger last quarter than initially estimated. 1st June 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Strong growth won’t halt rise in Spain’s debt ratio Spain’s economy continues to go from strength to strength and could well grow by more than 3% this year. But with the large amount of spare capacity set to keep inflation negative or low, and growing... 29th May 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Chart Pack Brazil’s fiscal plans take shape Brazil’s government has started to flesh out plans for a fiscal squeeze, but further measures are likely to be needed if it is to meet its budget targets for this year. According to plans published... 28th May 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Indonesia still looks vulnerable Today’s handover from military to civilian rule in Myanmar marks another welcome step forward in the country’s political development. But the new government must overcome a number of major challenges... 28th May 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Will the fiscal squeeze boost inflation again? One upside risk to inflation is that the Conservatives try to plug some of the hole in the public finances by raising taxes on goods and services in the CPI basket. But given that they have ruled out... 27th May 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Focus Is the worst really over for Russia? The slump in activity data for April put an end to hopes raised in some parts of the government (and markets) that the worst is over for the Russian economy. The steep falls in output are likely to be... 27th May 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Saudi Arabia and Egypt follow divergent paths The latest activity data suggest that the MENA region’s two largest economies, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have headed in opposite directions at the start of 2015. After recording strong growth last year... 27th May 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus The UK economy after the election While the Conservatives’ victory removed some of the uncertainty hanging over the economy, it has some more worrying implications – such as the renewed fiscal squeeze and the EU referendum. But we... 27th May 2015 · 1 min read
RBI Watch Finance Ministry puts ball back into Governor Rajan's court Signs of continued economic slack and the weakness of inflation are key reasons for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to resume its rate-cutting cycle in its upcoming policy review on 2 nd June. One... 26th May 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Chart Pack Q1 GDP data confirm EM downturn Most emerging economies have made a weak start to the year. The Q1 GDP data released so far point to a slowdown in aggregate EM economic growth and early activity data for April suggest that this has... 22nd May 2015 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Public Finances (Apr.) While April’s figures bring more good news on the current health of the public finances, a major and painful re-intensification of the fiscal squeeze will still be required for the Government to... 22nd May 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update A Greek deal might be coming, but it’s only a stop-gap While a deal to address Greece’s near-term financing needs might soon emerge, this will be merely a stop-gap. The main challenge of finding a lasting solution to Greece’s debt problems lies ahead. 20th May 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Unfunded pledges give Osborne a tough choice The Conservatives have made their job of eliminating the budget deficit by 2018/19 even harder by announcing a number of unfunded policy pledges in the run-up to the election. But the fact that they... 20th May 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Ukraine’s debt restructuring: what to make of the latest moves The latest developments regarding Ukraine’s debt restructuring, including a law passed by parliament today which allows the government to renege on payments if needed, are themselves of little... 19th May 2015 · 1 min read