China Data Response NBS business conditions survey (Q1) The results of China’s largest quarterly business survey, released today, add to the pile of evidence that economic growth peaked at the end of 2010. There are tentative signs that growth is shifting... 8th April 2011 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Tankan before and after the earthquake The breakdown of the Bank of Japan’s Tankan survey of business conditions into pre- and post-earthquake responses showed that conditions were already expected to weaken before the disaster and are now... 4th April 2011 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Tankan Survey (Q1) The first results from the Bank of Japan's March Tankan survey of business conditions, released today, are not much use because we do not yet have a split between pre- and post-quake responses. The... 1st April 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone EC Survey (Mar.) March’s fall in the EC measure of business and consumer sentiment provides some tentative signs that the euro-zone recovery may begin to slow before too long, suggesting that an April rate hike by the... 30th March 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Peruvian markets fall as election race takes unexpected twist Presidential election races in Peru have a history of being unpredictable. What initially seemed to be a three-way battle to succeed the outgoing Alan Garcia, now appears to be a five-way tussle ahead... 29th March 2011 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Unemployment, Retail Sales (Feb.) & Small Business Confidence (Mar.) Today’s retail sales and unemployment data for February were better than expected and small business confidence was high in early March. These figures pre-date the full impact of the earthquake that... 29th March 2011 · 1 min read
China Economics Update The view from the ground - Q1 2011 China’s businesses are signalling that demand is slowing. Households are slightly less concerned about inflation than they were three months ago. By a wide margin, they still prefer to save rather... 16th March 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Political hurdles threaten grand plan Expectations for the EU summit to discuss the latest policy proposals to tackle the euro-zone debt crisis have fallen so far that the scope for disappointment in the near term may be limited... 14th March 2011 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Economy Watchers Survey (Feb.) The current conditions component of February's Economy Watchers Survey (EWS) was even more upbeat than the improvement signalled by the outlook in the previous month. However, the forward-looking... 8th March 2011 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly A long week in politics Prime Minister Kan is pushing his budget through parliament but will face a much tougher time passing the financing bills required to fund it. The opposition may only play ball if he tenders his... 7th March 2011 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update How worrying is the rise in companies' price expectations? Concerns about the knock-on effects of the rise in inflation on inflation expectations tend to focus on the expectations of households and financial markets. But of most direct importance for the... 2nd March 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update New Irish Government faces daunting challenges News that Fine Gael and Labour are likely to form a coalition Government with a healthy majority will reduce political uncertainty in Ireland. But the new Government faces a major battle to improve... 28th February 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Will the German revival save the periphery? Healthy rises in the euro-zone business surveys in February add to evidence that the region as a whole and Germany in particular have made a strong start to the year. But while a bout of robust German... 28th February 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone EC Survey (Feb.) February’s EC business and consumer survey adds to evidence that the euro-zone recovery has regained momentum in Q1 and that the ECB’s hawkish stance may harden at next week’s Governing Council... 24th February 2011 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Middle Eastern states still need Western allies At first glance, the West looks set to be amongst the biggest losers from the political turmoil hitting the Arab world. The toppled regimes in Egypt and Tunisia were staunch Western allies. The same... 22nd February 2011 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update What does the Libyan crisis mean for oil prices? Thus far we have taken a relatively sanguine view of the global economic and market fall-out from the political turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa. The fact that the unrest has spread to... 21st February 2011 · 1 min read
