Japan Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Dec.) Corporate debt affordability remains extraordinarily high, as corporate profit margins have rebounded and borrowing costs have continued to decline. Firms have responded with higher corporate bond... 18th January 2017 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Are corporate credit spreads set to narrow in 2017? As commodity prices recovered and fears of a hard landing in China faded, corporate bonds delivered healthy returns in the US and euro-zone last year, and credit spreads narrowed. However, as the bull... 17th January 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Vietnam complacent over credit risks Policymakers in Vietnam are becoming increasingly complacent of the risks posed by the rapid build-up in debt, as reflected by the government’s recent announcement that it was targeting credit growth... 17th January 2017 · 1 min read
India Economics Update Going cashless? The government’s demonetisation measures have led to a jump in card and digital transactions, but this has not been anywhere near large enough to offset the slowdown in cash spending. That said, it... 17th January 2017 · 1 min read
UK Commercial Property Data Response Bank of England Credit Conditions Survey (Q4) The supply of residential mortgage credit worsened a touch in the fourth quarter. But there was no sign of a drop in lenders’ risk appetite or market share objectives, suggesting that credit... 13th January 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economic Outlook Steady growth ahead Most countries in Emerging Asia should continue to grow at a decent pace over the next couple of years as loose monetary policy helps support demand. The key exception is China, where growth looks set... 13th January 2017 · 1 min read
India Data Response Consumer Prices (Dec.) & Industrial Production (Nov.) Consumer price inflation dropped again in December as price discounting continued following demonetisation. A rate cut can’t be ruled out in the near term but, over the longer term, demonetisation... 12th January 2017 · 1 min read
China Data Response Bank Lending & Broad Credit (Dec.) Bank lending in China jumped last month as higher bond yields encouraged firms to turn to banks rather than capital markets for funding. However, broad credit continued to slow. 12th January 2017 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Assessing Turkish balance sheet risks from the fall in the lira The plunge in the lira doesn’t, so far, appear to have resulted in significant balance sheet strains, but the rapid rise in private sector FX liabilities suggests that this is still a risk. At the... 11th January 2017 · 1 min read
India Economics Update Extinguishing RBI’s liabilities unlikely to bring much benefit India’s government has moved to strip the legal status of banknotes affected by demonetisation that are still in circulation. This would have the result of extinguishing some of the RBI’s liabilities... 9th January 2017 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Household Borrowing Monitor (Nov.) November’s household borrowing figures showed that borrowing growth remains strong, despite the Brexit vote, and that the housing market continues to regain its momentum. Admittedly, the small rise in... 4th January 2017 · 1 min read
India Chart Pack Reform agenda takes off in 2016 2016 will be remembered as the year that Prime Minister Modi finally began to deliver on promises of much-needed economic reform. However, with a number of state elections due to take place over the... 21st December 2016 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update C&SEE banks in better shape, but concerns about Turkey The health of banking sectors in Central and South Eastern Europe (C&SEE) has improved significantly in recent years. And they are now much less exposed to a fresh eruption of financial stress in the... 20th December 2016 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Nov.) The Bank of Japan’s yield target has kept JGB prices anchored over recent weeks against the backdrop of a sell-off in bond markets overseas. The volume of the Bank’s bond purchases has also remained... 19th December 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus Will political risks halt the euro-zone recovery? Rising euroscepticism and a packed election timetable next year mean that there is a significant risk that the euro-zone breaks up. Even in our central scenario in which the currency union holds... 16th December 2016 · 1 min read
China Data Response Bank Lending & Broad Credit (Nov.) The jump in new lending last month was largely seasonal. Broad credit growth did pick up slightly but the increase was small and is unlikely to elicit a major policy response. 14th December 2016 · 1 min read
