Japan Data Response Small Business Confidence (Aug.) The pick-up in small business confidence in August shows that firms remain confident about the economic recovery. Spare capacity is also expected to shrink further and profitabilityis strong, which... 27th August 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Raising the official retirement age may have little impact Japan's adverse demographics and huge public debt are strengthening the pressure for labour market reforms that could both lift economic growth and save the government money. However, raising the... 26th August 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update How badly will political unrest hit Egyptian tourism? The outbreak of violence in Egypt has made the economic outlook highly uncertain. But it’s pretty clear that the tourism sector will be hard hit, as it has been during previous bouts of unrest. We... 22nd August 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Egypt sinks further into crisis, Gulf’s prospects brightening The outbreak of violence between security forces and protestors this month has sent Egypt spiralling deeper into crisis. It’s extremely tricky to predict how eventswill unfold from here on. In the... 20th August 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Focus What does the “services revolution” mean for EMs? Improvements in technology are making it increasingly easy to trade services. This has led some commentators to argue that services can become a more viable driver of EM growth, allowing EMs to break... 14th August 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Manufacturing PMI (Jul.) & Labour Cash Earnings (Jun.) The first drop in the manufacturing PMI since late last year indicates that the recovery may now be entering a slower phase. Meanwhile wage growth remains insufficient to compensate for rising... 31st July 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Egypt in turmoil (again) Egypt’s “second revolution” has made the outlook for the Arab world’s most populous nation highly uncertain. The economy is already extremely fragile – growth is sluggish, unemployment is high and the... 24th July 2013 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Help to Buy may help to re-elect The Chancellor is today meeting major lenders and housebuilders to discuss how the second (mortgage guarantee) element of the Government’s Help to Buy programme will work. While the policy has been... 23rd July 2013 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update G20 head for Moscow to talk about tapering The main talking point at this weekend’s gathering of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors is sure to be the Fed’s plan to taper QE3. But despite the volatility which has hit their markets... 17th July 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Small businesses faring better The recent improvement in the sentiment among small businesses is an encouraging sign that the overall economy is becoming fundamentally stronger, although changes to taxes and regulations will... 11th July 2013 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update What to expect from transatlantic trade talks Negotiations between the US and EU on a transatlantic trade and investment agreement begin today. In the long run, an agreement could provide a significant boost to world trade and economic activity... 8th July 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly A look ahead to the Upper House elections The precise results of the upcoming Upper House elections may matter less than commonly thought. While the governing LDP/New Komeito coalition will probably regain a majority of the seats, it is... 8th July 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Colombian industry still has a competitiveness problem The recent depreciation of the peso does not appear to have fully reversed the loss of competitiveness suffered by Colombian industry during the past decade. As a result, while the worst of the... 4th July 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update The economic implications of Egypt's second revolution It goes without saying that there’s a vast amount of uncertainty about how events will develop in Egypt. But the economy looks more fragile now than at any time since the first Arab Spring revolution... 4th July 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Reflecting on President Morsi's first year President Morsi’s first year in office hasn’t been easy to say the least. Unemployment is up, the pound has fallen and the authorities are no closer to securing an IMF agreement. These promise to make... 28th June 2013 · 1 min read
