Commodities Weekly Higher geopolitical tensions support gold prices, for now The further deterioration in the US relationship with Russia and North Korea this week has supported the prices of precious metals. A weaker dollar, in light of President Trump’s comments about the... 13th April 2017 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Brexit Watch: French election highlights negotiation time pressures While the political focus shifted away from Brexit and on to the French presidential election this week, UK labour market data and surveys of exporters suggest that the UK economy has remained... 13th April 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus How will the French economy fare after the election? France’s presidential election puts the country, and arguably the entire European Union, at a historic crossroads. The more likely path is one of liberal reforms that could boost growth and strengthen... 13th April 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update How big are the economic risks from the crisis in North Korea? There remains huge uncertainty as to how the growing crisis in North Korea will play out. Although war is likely to remain a last resort, the risk of some kind of military action is clearly growing... 12th April 2017 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Price expectations too weak to reach 2% inflation The labour market continues to tighten and firms are reporting the most severe capacity shortages in years. Underlying inflation is therefore set to recover after approaching zero at the start of this... 12th April 2017 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Machinery Orders (Feb.) The rebound in machinery orders in February wasn’t strong enough to reverse the decline in January. But with capacity usage picking up, we expect business investment to expand at a robust pace this... 12th April 2017 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Political risks don’t warrant major growth revisions – yet… Political risks in some parts of the emerging world have escalated in recent weeks, but not to the extent that we are marking down our near-term growth forecasts. 11th April 2017 · 1 min read
UK Economic Outlook Into the unknown While there are huge uncertainties ahead, the UK economy has entered the formal countdown to Brexit with decent momentum. Against this background, we see no reason to alter our long-standing view that... 10th April 2017 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Economy Watchers Survey (Mar.) Today’s Economy Watchers Survey jars with the upbeat message from other sentiment surveys. The survey also points to a further slowdown in job growth in coming months. 10th April 2017 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Brexit Watch: May softens stance on immigration Just over a week since the triggering of Article 50 and the PM Theresa May appears to have softened her stance in relation to Brexit. Despite this, markets have pushed back their expectations for the... 7th April 2017 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update First thoughts on what the US airstrike in Syria means for Russia Russian equities and its currency have fallen following US airstrikes on Syria early this morning, reflecting fading hopes that US-Russia relations will normalise and that sanctions might be lifted... 7th April 2017 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Unpacking Venezuela’s latest political crisis Venezuela has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons over the past week, with the Supreme Court first annulling the National Assembly before then partly reversing its decision. However, a change... 6th April 2017 · 1 min read
China Economics Update North Korea to distract from trade at Trump-Xi Summit We expect Donald Trump to tone down his criticism of China’s mercantilist policies when he meets Xi Jinping later today in order to focus on dealing with the more pressing threat from North Korea. If... 6th April 2017 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South Africa: How could Zuma go? Mounting opposition to President Jacob Zuma has sparked speculation that he could be forced from office. In this Update, we examine the mechanics of removing a South African president. 6th April 2017 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Politics still the biggest threat to Brazil’s recovery Brazil’s beleaguered government will have to fight major challenges on at least three fronts over the coming months. As things stand, there appears to be a way forward for the government on each of... 5th April 2017 · 1 min read
China Economics Update New economic zone won’t match Shenzhen, Pudong China’s government recently launched a new economic zone near Beijing that it is billing as the most important project of its kind since the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and Shanghai’s Pudong New... 4th April 2017 · 1 min read
