Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Ruble hit by sanctions, MNB to change tack The Russian ruble came under pressure this week as investors worried that US sanctions will be ramped up. For now, though, we don’t think that this will have a significant near-term impact on the... 24th August 2018 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly Public finances improve, retail sales lose their shine Amid the Brexit gloom and doom this week there was at least some positive news for the Chancellor. The continued strong performance of the public finances in July suggests that he will be able to... 24th August 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly BoT signals rate hike, Malaysia pushes back on BRI Stronger-than-expected Q2 GDP figures this week and the Bank of Thailand’s (BoT) increasingly hawkish rhetoric suggest a 25bp rate hike is likely at its next meeting on 19 th September. However, with... 24th August 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Aramco IPO on hold, Bahrain debt fears ease Reports this week suggest that Saudi policymakers may be close to shelving the Aramco IPO, which would reinforce concerns that the country’s commitment to the Vision 2030 reforms is waning. Elsewhere... 23rd August 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Trump knows he can’t really influence Fed policy President Donald Trump’s recent public criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell is a clever attempt to pre-emptively blame the Fed and its interest rate hikes for any future downturn in the US economy... 22nd August 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Political uncertainty won’t derail Swedish economy Following September’s general election, Sweden looks set for a period of political uncertainty that might dent economic activity. But this is likely to prove temporary and we doubt that it would... 21st August 2018 · 1 min read
India Chart Pack Equities continue to scale new highs Indian equities have continued to surge in August, with the benchmark Sensex stock index rising to a fresh record high of over 38,000 today. The recent strong performance in the Sensex compared to... 20th August 2018 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Weekly Brazil’s election campaign, Banxico’s prudence Campaigning for Brazil’s elections in October started this week, and market-friendly candidate Geraldo Alckmin seems to have positioned himself well to mount a challenge to the leading populists... 17th August 2018 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly Autumn Brexit deal less likely We have reassessed our view on the likely timing of a Brexit deal. Our working assumption is now that a deal is reached at the eleventh hour in Q1 2019, rather than in the autumn. However, we doubt... 17th August 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update What to make of Indonesia’s populist budget? Indonesia’s budget for next year envisages a big increase in cash handouts, and is clearly aimed at boosting support for the president ahead of next year’s general election. Worryingly, however, the... 17th August 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Indonesia acts to support the rupiah, Korean job woes The authorities in Indonesia have redoubled their efforts to support the rupiah over the past week amid further downward pressure on EM currencies caused by the crisis in Turkey. Meanwhile, labour... 17th August 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Turkish contagion, BoJ’s helping hand A former BoJ executive suggested that the Bank of Japan may tolerate 10-year yields rising to 0.4% even while keeping its official target at zero. This would lift trading income, increase returns on... 17th August 2018 · 1 min read
India Economics Weekly Modicare unlikely to have significant impact Prime Minister Modi confirmed this week that his nationwide healthcare insurance scheme will be rolled out in September. Better healthcare provision could bring several benefits, from both an economic... 17th August 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Focus Malaysia: what to make of Mahathir’s first 100 days Following his shock election victory at the start of May, 93-year-old Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has wasted no time in carrying out his main campaign promises. With his first 100 days in office... 16th August 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update What to expect from PM Abe's third term? Mr Abe will almost certainly win the LDP’s leadership elections next month, allowing him to stay Prime Minister for another three years. While fiscal policy will probably be tightened a little further... 16th August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Focus Turkey: what next? The plunge in the Turkish lira is likely to push inflation above 20% and tip the economy into recession in the coming months. Our base case is that GDP growth will now average 3.0% over 2018 as a... 15th August 2018 · 15 mins read
