Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkish vote should buoy markets, for now The positive result in yesterday’s referendum on reforms to the Turkish constitution is good news for two reasons. First, it shows that support for the present AKP government is still high and, as... 13th September 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia’s reform agenda back in the spotlight A number of events over the course of this week have thrown Russia’s reform agenda and the 2012 presidential elections back into the spotlight. It’s still far too early to conclude whether Mr. Putin... 10th September 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungary starts to the pay the price for political posturing The past week has brought further evidence that Hungary’s government is starting to pay the price for its bellicose talk. Bond yields are rising and the forint has failed to rally in recent weeks... 9th September 2010 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Argentina: one step forward, two steps back According to a report in this morning’s Financial Times, the Argentine government has performed a sharp u-turn and will now allow the IMF to scrutinise its much-maligned national accounts in an... 9th 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
Asia Economics Update Pakistan gets some help from the IMF The IMF late last week approved an emergency $0.45bn loan for Pakistan. The funding is small compared to the cost of the reconstruction work but is a vote of confidence in a government whose initial... 6th September 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Is Romania on the brink again? Yesterday’s cabinet reshuffle in Romania does not present any immediate risk to the IMF-led loan programme. But it underlines the tense political situation and the deep divisions in parliament over... 3rd September 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Ifo Survey (Aug.) August’s rise in the German Ifo is good news after falls in some of the other surveys lately. But the slight decline in expectations highlights concerns for the future. 25th August 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asia, not the politics, will drive Australia's outlook The hung parliament outcome of Australia’s weekend election will inevitably hit local markets for a time but the long-run impact should be small. The main political parties have similar fiscal... 23rd August 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash PMIs (Aug.) August’s fall in the euro-zone composite PMI suggests that the recovery is now beginning to slow alongside those of other major economies. But the index points to pretty strong GDP growth for the time... 23rd August 2010 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus Why Brazil's next president must focus on the savings shortfall From the perspective of economic policy, the over-riding priority for Brazil’s new president must be to raise the level of domestic savings. Without this, much-needed investment will have to be funded... 11th August 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Bank Credit & EWS (Jul.) The current conditions index of the Economy Watchers Survey (EWS) climbed back to a multi-year high in July. The survey raises some questions about the outlook, but, overall, its high level should be... 9th August 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Is Russia's privatisation plan the real deal? Details of Russia’s plans to raise up to $30bn through the sale of state assets have trickled out over the past day or so. The proposals are good news at the margin, although the renewed emphasis on... 29th July 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone EC Survey (Jul.) July’s improvement in the EC consumer and business surveys adds to the evidence that the euro-zone is performing surprisingly well. But divergences between the region’s economies are widening. 29th July 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Small Business Confidence (Jul.) Japan's smaller companies remain upbeat about business conditions, emphasising that fears of a double-dip here at least are exaggerated. 28th July 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Ifo Survey (Jul.) & French Consumer Spending (Jun.) July’s rise in the German Ifo index suggests that the economy is performing very well despite signs of a slowdown in the US and elsewhere. But June’s fall in French consumer spending confirmed that... 23rd July 2010 · 1 min read
