Canada Economics Update Federal deficit elimination goal may face longer delays An underperforming economy will make it tougher for the federal government to eliminate its budget deficit worth just over 1% of GDP. Although some headway has been made this year, weak underlying... 29th January 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update LTRO repayments to give mixed signals The expected repayment of some ECB LTRO funding should add to signs that the region’s banking system is on the mend. But it will also underline the weakness of demand in the region and could fuel... 24th January 2013 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Public finances (Dec.) December’s public finances data ended 2012 on a disappointing note. While the deficit in the last quarter of the fiscal year will be flattered by temporary factors, including the transfer of the Bank... 22nd January 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Cypriot bail-out struggles continue The Troika and the Cypriot Government have reached a stalemate, with the latter refusing to agree to the terms for a vital bail-out. An agreement should be reached after next month’s election and... 17th January 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Fiscal uncertainty likely to be an ongoing problem Regardless of how the current debt ceiling negotiations pan out, the bigger problem is that there has been an almost complete breakdown in the working relationship between both sides in Congress. As a... 17th January 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economic Outlook Gathering momentum? Asian growth looks to have picked up late last year and is likely to fare well in the near term. However, growth in 2013-14 is unlikely to be strong due to lacklustre external demand and structural... 17th January 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Fiscal deficits squeezing investment in resource-poor economies With all eyes on Egypt’s currency crisis, it’s easy to forget the fiscal crisis hitting the resource-poor Arab countries at the same time. Gaping budget deficits are squeezing out investment and... 16th January 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update How is government spending affecting EM growth? In parts of the emerging market world, an increasingly pro-cyclical government spending bias threatens to contribute to a more volatile pattern of growth. Within Latin America there is a risk that... 14th January 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi stimulus to help economy grow at healthy pace The rise in government spending announced in the Saudi budget for this year reinforces our view that supportive fiscal policy should enable the economy to continue to perform well despite a weak... 14th January 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly $1trn coin not a realistic option The fanciful idea that the US Treasury could circumvent the debt ceiling by minting a $1trn platinum coin suddenly exploded in popularity last week. This is never going to happen. One question that... 14th January 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Spending more just to stand still The announcement of the government’s ¥10.3 trillion supplementary budget on Friday has been widely welcomed. However, it is unlikely to provide the boost to the economy the Cabinet Office expects. In... 14th January 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly ECB keeps its head in the sand The ECB’s comments last week dealt a blow to any hopes that it might provide more support to the euro-zone economy. With financial market conditions improving, the Bank no longer seems to be... 14th January 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update "Fiscal stimulus" just more of the same In announcing yet another fiscal stimulus package, heavy on public works spending and subsidies for popular projects, Japan’s new government is simply repeating what the others have done before. If... 11th January 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Slow start to 2013 in the US will hold back EMs The worst case scenarios associated with the US “fiscal cliff” have been avoided, but the US is still likely to get off to a slow start to the year. It will hold back growth in EMs, but it will not be... 9th January 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Outlook brightens (a little) for Argentina in debt dispute Events have recently swung back in Argentina’s favour in its dispute with holdout bondholders. Despite this, there remains a significant risk of a default over the course of this year. What’s more... 8th January 2013 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus What would Scottish independence mean for the remaining UK? We think that Scotland’s exit from the Union would be unlikely to benefit the rest of the UK and could even represent a net economic cost. The UK would probably retain some of the disadvantages of... 8th January 2013 · 1 min read
