US Chart Pack Core inflation will bounce back Despite the weaker core inflation readings over the past couple of months, we still expect core inflation to climb gradually, rising above the Fed's 2% target in the first half of next year... 24th September 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack What is behind the recent currency weakness? Sizeable falls in a number of Asian currencies against the US dollar over the past month have rekindled unwelcome memories of last summer’s “Taper Tantrum”. As was the case during last year’s sell-off... 23rd September 2014 · 1 min read
China Data Response HSBC/Markit Flash Manufacturing PMI (Sep.) Today's PMI reading suggests that conditions in the manufacturing sector have held up better than expected recently on the back of healthy export demand. That said, the economy still faces significant... 23rd September 2014 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Minimum wage pledges unlikely to benefit households much With real wages still falling, proposals to raise the national minimum wage (NMW) look set to play a key role in political parties’ general election campaigns. But given the likely adverse effects on... 22nd September 2014 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly Post-referendum relief rally falls flat The absence of a major relief rally following Scotland’s rejection of independence confirms that the markets only ever placed a very small probability on a ‘Yes’ vote. Although interest rate... 19th September 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Has the labour market turned for the worse? Industrial production has been falling for several months, and unemployment has started to rise again. If past experience is any guide, the unemployment rate will continue rising towards 4% by the end... 19th September 2014 · 1 min read
US Economic Outlook Return to normalcy? The recent strength evident in much of the incoming survey and activity data suggeststhat we were right to believe GDP growth would accelerate once credit conditions eased and thefiscal drag faded. We... 18th September 2014 · 1 min read
UK Data Response MPC Minutes (Sep.) & Labour Data (Jul./Aug.) The minutes of September’s MPC meeting struck a fairly dovish tone, while the continued weakness of average earnings growth has bolstered the case for keeping interest rates on hold over the coming... 17th September 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German ZEW Survey (Sep.) & Euro-zone Labour Costs (Q2) September’s small fall in the German ZEW investor expectations index and thesharper decline in the current conditions index added to evidence that the recovery inthe euro-zone’s largest and strongest... 16th September 2014 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Healthy labour market keeping policymakers calm Premier Li Keqiang’s comments last week prioritising reform over stimulus have taken on added significance in the light of the weekend’s weak activity data. Policymakers are aware that efforts to... 15th September 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Strong jobs figure does not alter the picture for Australia Data released last week showed that Australia added more jobs in August than in any other month on record. But the jump does not change the broader picture of labour market weakness, and it does not... 12th September 2014 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Labour market conditions still strong The latest NFIB small business and JOLTS surveys indicate that the disappointing gain in payroll employment in August was just a blip rather than the start of a major slowdown. What’s more, the... 9th September 2014 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Labour Force Survey (Aug.) Canada's discouraging employment performance over the past six months is further evidence that the economy is struggling and that the Bank of Canada's needs to keep interest rates low to have any hope... 5th September 2014 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Spring of hope or winter of despair? Last week was the best of times and the worst of times. Just as it looked as though the US recoverywas finally moving into a higher gear, as credit conditions eased and the fiscal drag faded, the142... 5th September 2014 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly GDP overhaul merely tweaks the big picture Last week’s revised GDP estimates were seemingly all things to all men, supporting political parties’ views and every economist’s forecasts for interest rates and fiscal policy. In reality, the new... 5th September 2014 · 1 min read
US Data Response Employment Report (Aug.) The modest 142,000 increase in non-farm payrolls in August, which was well belowthe consensus forecast at 230,000 and the smallest gain this year, will inevitably sparkspeculation that the US recovery... 5th September 2014 · 1 min read