India Economics Weekly Karnataka election, trade data, banking risks The loss for PM Modi’s BJP in the state election in Karnataka may persuade the ruling national party to slow the pace of labour reforms and other politically contentious measures elsewhere as next... 19th May 2023 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt sovereign default worries mount Fears among investors have continued to grow that Egypt’s government will default on its debt in the coming years although, for now at least, there remains a path to avoid such an outcome. Taking that... 18th May 2023 · 7 mins read
India Economics Update Rise in unsecured lending a growing risk The sharp rise in unsecured bank lending has probably helped to support consumption and boosted bank profitability over recent quarters. But it also leaves the banking sector at risk of rising... 16th May 2023 · 3 mins read
US Commercial Property Data Response Commercial Property Lending (Apr.) Net commercial real estate (CRE) lending slowed sharply once again in April. Lending against all commercial sectors turned negative for the first time in nearly six years, and with little in the way... 15th May 2023 · 3 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Sweden’s property issues flare up again The fragility of Sweden’s property sector hit the headlines again this week as commercial real estate firm SBB suffered a downgrade of its credit rating to “junk” status and cancelled its dividend... 12th May 2023 · 6 mins read
China Rapid Response China Bank Lending & Broad Credit (Apr.) A widely-anticipated acceleration in credit growth didn’t materialise last month, suggesting that momentum may already be fading in China’s post-zero-COVID rebound. 11th May 2023 · 2 mins read
Japan Chart Pack Bank of Japan kicking the can down the road Governor Ueda presided over his first policy meeting late last month and opted to keep all monetary policy settings, including Yield Curve Control (YCC), completely unchanged. To be sure, Mr Ueda also... 11th May 2023 · 11 mins read
Capital Daily Credit spreads still look too low to us With credit conditions tightening and, in our view, recessions looming in the US and other advanced economies, we think it is only a matter of time before corporate credit spreads widen. 9th May 2023 · 6 mins read
US Economics Update SLOOS shows banks tightening credit conditions The recent turmoil in the banking sector doesn’t appear to have triggered a severe further tightening in credit conditions, but since lending standards were already being tightened to a degree only... 8th May 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Chart Pack Core inflation too high for ECB to stop hiking April’s inflation data provided little sign that underlying price pressures are easing. Admittedly, the core rate edged down from 5.7% y/y in March to 5.6%, which was the first decline in 15 months... 5th May 2023 · 10 mins read
Global Economics Update Hikes nearly over, but most of their effect still to come While the hiking cycles of all major central banks will soon be in the rear-view mirror, most of their impact on activity lies on the road ahead. Based on the latest national accounts data, we... 5th May 2023 · 5 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update How feasible is a BRICS currency? The idea of a new BRICS currency to settle trade or hold in reserves instead of the dollar has been doing the rounds recently. This could be modelled on the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights. But getting... 4th May 2023 · 6 mins read
UK Data Response Money & Credit (Mar.) March’s money and credit data showed that the collapse of the US bank SVB and the takeover of Credit Suisse in early March triggered a small withdrawal of funds from the overall UK banking system... 4th May 2023 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update Double jeopardy if you bank in Spain Over the past year, Spanish households have seen a bigger increase in their cost of borrowing than those of any other large euro-zone economy, but the increase in the interest paid on deposits has... 4th May 2023 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update Credit conditions continue to tighten March’s money and credit data, as well as the Bank Lending Survey carried out in March and April, show no clear signs that the recent troubles in the US and Swiss banking sectors have had an impact on... 2nd May 2023 · 3 mins read