Japan Economics Weekly Why are firms borrowing more? Despite exceptionally strong corporate profits and falling investment, corporate debt increased by the most since 2008 last quarter. With interest costs at record lows, firms seem to be borrowing to... 27th March 2015 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Investors regain their appetite for EM assets In February, there was a net flow into global ETF and mutual funds that invest in emerging markets for the month since September. In particular, funds dedicated to investing in equities in Emerging... 26th March 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Saudi Arabia refuses to budge Even though oil prices continue to languish at around $55pb, there is still no sign that Saudi Arabia will give in to pressure from other OPEC members to cut oil output. Oil Minister, Ali al-Naimi... 25th March 2015 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Feb.) The further acceleration in broad money growth in February is indicative of a strengthening real economic recovery that will eventually put more upward pressure on underlying inflation. The annual... 24th March 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Portugal’s good news should be treated with caution A continued economic recovery and the Government’s early repayment of IMF loans have allowed Portugal to distance itself further from beleaguered Greece. But with debt still worryingly high and the... 23rd March 2015 · 1 min read
India Economics Update Remittance inflows set to remain strong Concerns about destabilising capital flows to emerging markets such as India have again come to the fore, but one factor that often gets overlooked is the role of overseas remittances. Remittance... 18th March 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Feb.) While corporate debt increased at the fastest pace in years last quarter, the increase has been more than offset by higher corporate assets. With corporate profits at record-highs, firms are well... 18th March 2015 · 1 min read
UK Markets Outlook Political risks may check sterling’s rally Although sterling has shot up by nearly 5% on a trade-weighted basis since the start of the year, there are several impediments to a further significant appreciation over the coming months. The... 17th March 2015 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Policymakers strike sanguine note If there is one key message on the economy to take away from the National People’s Congress it is that the government is aware of downside risks to growth but confident that it has the tools and the... 17th March 2015 · 1 min read
China Economics Update What impact would deposit rate liberalisation have? China is moving closer to full liberalisation of bank deposit rates. Households should benefit from higher returns while banks will find themselves squeezed. But some of the hoped-for gains from... 12th March 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Credit growth needs to slow further We have been warning for some time that parts of Asia are experiencing an unsustainable credit binge, and that credit growth will need to slow for a crisis to be avoided. Encouragingly, credit growth... 12th March 2015 · 1 min read
China Data Response Bank Lending & Broad Credit (Feb.) Credit growth strengthened last month on the back of a more accommodative policy stance. That said, we still think that concerns over the build-up of credit risks mean policymakers will stop short of... 12th March 2015 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Nigeria’s banks look increasingly fragile On the face of it, Nigeria’s banking system appears to be in good health following a round of recapitalisations in 2011, but its exposure to the oil sector and to naira depreciation mean that... 10th March 2015 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Will euro-zone sovereign credit spreads grind even lower? The yield spreads of 10-year Spanish and Italian government bonds over German Bunds recently fell below 100bp for the first time since 2010. Given their grind lower since the summer of 2012, it is... 9th March 2015 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Why haven’t households spent their gasoline windfall? With the overall economy in good shape, it is only a matter of time before households start to spend more of the cash freed up by the plunge in gasoline prices. Indeed, in recent years households have... 6th March 2015 · 1 min read
