Japan Economics Update Case for corporate tax cuts appears irresistible Even without the need to mitigate the impact of the planned doubling of the consumption tax, the arguments for lowering Japan’s relatively high corporate tax rates would be very strong. But with a... 13th August 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update What do the Q2 GDP data mean for the consumption tax? Last week India appointed Raghuram Rajan, a former chief economist at the IMF, as the new governor of the Reserve Bank (RBI). The new governor takes over at a tricky time, with India’s economy... 12th August 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Fiscal populism setting Argentina up for a fall Argentina’s public finances have deteriorated by more than meets the eye under Cristina Fernández. Increased monetisation and the transfer of resources from public institutions have prevented the... 7th August 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia to keep policy loose as mining boom cools The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cut its cash rate by 25bp to 2.5% at its meeting today. It is likely to keep rates very low over the next two years to support the economy through a mining slowdown... 6th August 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Tampering with the sales tax hike carries risks China’s economy is set to slow further over coming years but we believe that the slump in growth many are now predicting will be avoided. 5th August 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Fiscal Monitor (Jul.) The latest figures on the public finances show that Italy and Portugal are struggling to reduce their budget deficits, but Ireland, Greece and Spain are faring rather better. 30th July 2013 · 1 min read
China Economics Update A welcome light on China’s government debt China’s forthcoming audit of government debt will shine a welcome light on a murky part of the economy. Based on what we know at present, the overall government debt situation has actually improved in... 30th July 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Public debt levels unlikely to rise sharply The twin tailwinds of debt relief programmes from Western governments and high commodity prices have helped to dramatically reduce public debt levels in sub-Saharan Africa over the past few years. But... 26th July 2013 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Austerity not over yet Over the past twelve months or so, policy-makers have sounded more pragmatic about the need for further fiscal austerity. However, the reduction in the structural budget deficit in advanced economies... 23rd July 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil fiddles around the fiscal edges The freeze to some areas of government spending announced by Brazil’s government last night amounts to further fiddling around the edges at the expense of more fundamental fiscal reforms needed to... 23rd July 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Revamped SICAD won’t save Venezuela The re-launch of foreign exchange auctions in Venezuela, coupled with an increase in the public debt ceiling, is unlikely to solve the country’s dollar drought. We continue to think that GDP will... 22nd July 2013 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Public finances (Jun.) The underlying picture for the public finances is one of stalled progress in deficit reduction. The Chancellor will be hoping that the nascent economic recovery will change this picture soon. But, for... 19th July 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Gulf aid not a long-term solution to Egypt’s problems The aid that Gulf states have granted to Egypt since the ousting of President Morsi should be sufficient to cover the country’s external financing requirement for almost a year. Accordingly, the... 16th July 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Will Portugal be granted another bail-out? The risk of Portugal needing more financial support is growing. Even if a second bail-out can be agreed in the run-up to the German election, it is likely to involve private sector losses. And the ECB... 15th July 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Thailand’s rice subsidy sustainable Thailand’s government can afford to maintain its rice subsidy scheme indefinitely, as long as GDP growth holds up and rice prices do not collapse. However, doing so would put at risk the goal of... 12th July 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update How sustainable is the Gulf’s fiscal splurge? We’ve argued for some time that the Gulf economies should outperform the rest of the MENA region over the next couple of years, in large part thanks to large increases in government spending. But... 11th July 2013 · 1 min read
