UK Data Response Mortgage Lending (Aug.) The latest mortgage lending statistics from the Bank of England show that mortgage market activity weakened once again in August. Declining buyer demand means that approvals could drop even further... 29th September 2010 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Taking stock of Brazil’s 'currency war' Last night’s warning by the Brazilian Finance Minister, Guido Mantega, that an ‘international currency war’ has broken out has grabbed some predictable headlines. We discussed the issue of rapid... 28th September 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Monetary Indicators Monitor (Sep.) The further rise in euro-zone annual broad money and credit growth is certainly an encouraging sign. But given the very low starting point and the fact that many peripheral banks are still struggling... 27th September 2010 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Banks in good health, but keep an eye on Brazilian credit risks Latin America’s banking sector remains in good shape and robust credit growth should continue to support the region’s impressive recovery for a while yet. But while the outlook for Latin America’s... 23rd September 2010 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus Capital controls back on the agenda Latin America’s floating currencies have bounced back strongly after a brief wobble in May and, with the notable exception of the Mexican peso, most now look expensive relative to ‘fair value’... 22nd September 2010 · 1 min read
China Economics Update The view from the ground - Q3 2010 China’s businesses and banks are increasingly confident about the economic situation, but consumers are downbeat, preferring by a wide margin to save rather than spend. 20th September 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Will tighter regulation prevent a recovery in lending? The changes in the regulatory regime currently being decided are unlikely to be the key determinant of banks lending behaviour in the near-term. But tighter regulation threatens to choke off any... 13th September 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Banking worries continue to weigh on the periphery The recent slide in the euro and rise in peripheral bond yields appears to reflect renewed concerns about the health of the region’s banks. These concerns may only subside once the peripheral... 13th September 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Machinery Orders, Bank Credit, & EWS Today's batch of data showed that machine orders were strong in July but bank credit figures for August and the current conditions index of last month's Economy Watchers Survey (EWS) were... 8th September 2010 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Residential loan losses may return to haunt banks Banks were back in the news last week, announcing the largest quarterly increase in net income since the recession began. This was mainly due to the first decline in the value of non-current loans... 6th September 2010 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Mortgage Lending (Jul.) The Bank of England’s mortgage lending statistics for July showed a marginal rise in both the value and volume of mortgages approved. However, the bigger picture is still of subdued activity in the... 31st August 2010 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Mortgage Lending (Jul.) The Bank of England’s mortgage lending statistics for July showed a marginal rise in both the value and volume of mortgages approved. However, the bigger picture is still of subdued activity in the... 31st August 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Aug.) The pick-up in the Monetary Policy Committee’s preferred measure of money supply growth has continued to fade. With bank lending so weak, the improvement never looked likely to last. 31st August 2010 · 1 min read
