Japan Economics Weekly How much of a threat is “hollowing out”? The conventional wisdom is that Japan’s firms have increasingly shifted production facilities abroad in recent years, resulting in a “hollowing out” of the country’s domestic manufacturing sector. But... 22nd August 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Flash Manufacturing PMI (August) The improvement in the flash manufacturing PMI in August suggests that the sector has come back to life. 21st August 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Chart Pack CEE recovery loses steam The raft of second quarter GDP data released in Central and South Eastern Europe this month showed that growth eased across much of the region. It’s tempting to interpret this as a sign that the... 20th August 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Glimmers of hope for reform of South Africa’s labour market South Africa’s labour market rigidities have been a key constraint on economic growth over the past few years, but some recent developments have given glimmers of hope that much-needed reform can be... 20th August 2014 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Employment data indicate slow growth economy Even after the upward revisions to July's data, the weak trend in employment suggests that some caution should be taken when making any bold inferences about the state of the economy, particularly... 19th August 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia: still struggling at the start of Q3 July’s activity data will do little to ease concerns about the outlook for Russia’s economy. Industrial production accelerated a little and agricultural production strengthened on the back of this... 19th August 2014 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Plenty to talk about at Jackson Hole Federal Reserve officials will be heading to their annual policy get together at Jackson Hole later this week. We expect little in the way of direct insights into the monetary policy outlook... 18th August 2014 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly Deciphering the pay puzzle Last week’s Inflation Report saw the MPC place more emphasis on earnings at a time whenindicators are giving radically different signals regarding its current – let alone likely future –strength... 18th August 2014 · 1 min read
US Economics Focus Dwindling slack will soon lead to surge in wage growth We believe that the slack in the labour market is dwindling and we expect a resulting accelerationin wage growth to be one of the big stories over the next 12 months. Unless productivity growth breaks... 12th August 2014 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Labour Force Survey (Jul.) Canada's labour market continued to misfire in July. We can't help thinking that if the Bank of Canada had a dual inflation/employment mandate like the Fed, then it would now be seriously considering... 8th August 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Consumer spending in Emerging Asia set for recovery Emerging Asia’s consumers have been struggling in recent months. Tight labour markets and improving growth prospects point to some pick-up going forward, but high levels of household debt in a number... 4th August 2014 · 1 min read
US Data Response Employment Report (Jul.) It is a sign of how far the US economy has come in recent months that the 209,000increase in non-farm payroll employment in July will probably be viewed as adisappointment in the markets. The... 1st August 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash CPI (Jul.) & Unemployment (Jun.) July’s flash euro-zone consumer prices data underlined the continued weaknessof price pressures in the currency union and supported our view that the ECB hasmore work to do to tackle the risk of... 31st July 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economic Outlook North Africa getting back on its feet Three years on from the “Arab Spring” uprisings, the tide is turning in favour of the economies of North Africa. Admittedly, there are still many challenges, not least reining in large twin current... 31st July 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Labour Cash Earnings (June) While headline wage growth disappointed last month, the rise in base pay is reassuring. 31st July 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Property price worries prompt rate hikes The central banks of New Zealand, the Philippines and Malaysia all tightened monetary policy last month amid signs that policymakers are becoming increasingly concerned that loose monetary policy is... 30th July 2014 · 1 min read
