Europe Economics Weekly Euro-zone to keep calm and Omicr-on in 2022 While the new year has started much like 2021 did, with a surge in Covid cases and consumers becoming more cautious, the response of governments has been markedly different. In general, blanket... 7th January 2022 · 5 mins read
Japan Data Response Japan Wages & Household Spending (Nov. 2021) Wage growth fell to zero in November due a slump in bonus payments, but it should accelerate as the labour market tightens and the recent reopening feeds into a renewed recovery in overtime and bonus... 7th January 2022 · 2 mins read
Canada Economics Update Five key calls and five unknowns for Canada in 2022 We expect GDP to grow strongly once the current restrictions are eased, but we are sceptical that either GDP growth or inflation will be as high this year as widely anticipated. This leads us to think... 6th January 2022 · 5 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update CEE: wage-price spiral a growing risk in 2022 With central banks across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) raising interest rates to tackle inflation, we think the risks of a wage-price spiral are low. Even so, persistently above-target inflation... 5th January 2022 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Update Key calls for 2022 We expect GDP to return to its pre-virus path in the second half of the year as services spending finally returns to near-normal. However, the risks to that forecast remain tilted to the downside as... 5th January 2022 · 4 mins read
Canada Chart Pack Restrictions to weigh on first-quarter GDP growth The economy gained momentum at the start of the fourth quarter and we have revised up our forecast for fourth-quarter GDP growth to 5.5% annualised, from 4.0%. Given the rapidly deteriorating... 23rd December 2021 · 8 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Chart Pack Omicron won’t hold back consumption for long The Omicron has lifted new virus cases to a record high, though hospitalisations remain low. We estimate that there are around 2000 hospital beds available for Covid-19 patients in New South Wales... 23rd December 2021 · 11 mins read
Latin America Chart Pack Omicron may hinder already weakening recoveries Recoveries across Latin America have lost momentum in Q4 even though, unlike in other regions such as Europe, new COVID-19 cases generally remain low and containment measures are still light-touch at... 22nd December 2021 · 14 mins read
Japan Chart Pack Manufacturing rebound should continue into 2022 Q4 is shaping up to be strong in line with our forecast. Mobility data point to another sizeable rebound in consumer spending, and strong export data and optimistic firm forecasts suggest that... 22nd December 2021 · 10 mins read
China Chart Pack The People’s Bank is not pleased The People’s Bank purchased nearly $6bn in foreign exchange last month, by our estimate. That’s not much in the context of China’s cross-border trade and investment flows. But it was the biggest... 22nd December 2021 · 12 mins read
US Chart Pack Winter virus wave to slow economic momentum The Omicron variant has supercharged the seasonal wave of virus cases sweeping parts of the US, adding to the existing headwinds to consumption growth over the coming months. In contrast to... 21st December 2021 · 9 mins read
Global Economics Update The World in 2022 We expect growth in almost every major economy to slow next year, with the US and China in particular falling some way short of current expectations. At the same time, while headline inflation will... 17th December 2021 · 4 mins read
Europe Data Response EZ Hourly Labour Costs (Q3) The rebound in euro-zone hourly wage growth in Q3 is a sign of base effects fading and there is no evidence that this is the beginning of a wage-price spiral that would concern the ECB. Indeed, wage... 16th December 2021 · 2 mins read
Long Run Update Ongoing pandemic to slow migration’s return to normal The continued threat of new virus waves, and therefore fresh rounds of travel restrictions, suggests that global migration flows could remain subdued for a while yet. However, we continue to doubt... 16th December 2021 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia Labour Market (Nov.) The remarkable recovery in Australia’s labour market following the recent lockdowns suggests that the Reserve Bank of Australia will end its asset purchases altogether in February. 16th December 2021 · 2 mins read
Global Economics Chart Pack Shortages to maintain upward pressure on inflation Outside China, global inflation jumped from 5.0% to 5.5% in October, its highest level since 2008. And timely data point to a further rise in November. Base effects, fading ‘re-opening’ inflation, and... 14th December 2021 · 14 mins read