Emerging Markets Economics Update Can the BRICs regain their vigour? Four charts to watch The slowdown in EM GDP growth over the past couple of years has been driven in large part by weakness in the four largest emerging economies, the BRICs. Much of this weakness has, in turn, been caused... 13th June 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Indian industry moving tentatively in the right direction Today’s figures on Indian industry were the most positive in many months. These data are volatile though and don’t yet provide convincing evidence that the sector has finally turned a corner... 12th June 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Pakistan’s security concerns not the only constraint on growth Although recent political violence in Pakistan has once again put the country’s poor security situation under the spotlight, it is far from the only problem the country faces. We expect growth in... 12th June 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Low inflation and strong won to keep Korean rates on hold The Bank of Korea (BoK) kept interest rates on hold today, as was expected given the reasonable economic outlook and subdued inflation. We think rates will be kept on hold for a while yet, with the... 12th June 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update More rate hikes to come in New Zealand The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) raised its policy rate by 25bp for the third straight meeting today, as it continued the process of returning rates to more normal levels. We doubt that a... 12th June 2014 · 1 min read
EM Markets Chart Pack What next for Russia's financial markets? We do not think the recent outperformance of Russia’s financial markets and currency will last. Indeed, the ruble has already dropped back slightly over the past week or so. There are three key... 11th June 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia's financial stability risks can be kept in check The rapid rise in household debt levels coupled with strong house price growth is a key medium-term threat to Malaysia. With the economy now in good shape, the central bank (BNM) has scope to act pre... 11th June 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Three scenarios for how Asia’s credit binge will end We have been arguing for some time that Emerging Asia’s credit binge is unsustainable. While we don’t think an Asia-wide financial crisis is likely, the countries that have seen the biggest build-up... 10th June 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Trade Monitor EM exports strengthen a touch, manufacturers outperform Emerging Market (EM) export growth picked up a little in April and the rebound in Chinese exports last month suggests that it has since strengthened further. In aggregate, EM export growth is still... 9th June 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Can manufacturing revive growth in India and Indonesia? A strong manufacturing sector would go some way to reviving the economic fortunes of India and Indonesia. The challenges are formidable. But, with a new prime minister in India, and Indonesia set to... 9th June 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Can the junta save the Thai economy? Since assuming power, the army has made spurring the flagging Thai economy one of its top priorities. Public spending should receive a boost, but private sector expenditure is likely to remain subdued... 5th June 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia’s economy to slow after strong Q1 performance Australia’s economy posted strong growth in Q1, on the back of a surge in net exports. However, it is still far too early to say that the mining slowdown has been successfully navigated. Indeed, the... 4th June 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM manufacturing strengthens a touch on China rebound May’s PMI data suggest that EM manufacturing strengthened a little last month, having softened for most of the past half a year. There was a welcome improvement in the PMIs of the BRICs, particularly... 3rd June 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Rate cuts unlikely any time soon in India The central bank left interest rates unchanged today, as expected. Looking ahead, rate cuts are unlikely any time soon despite subpar economic growth as consumer price inflation remains high. 3rd June 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia set for an extended period of low rates The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left its policy rate unchanged at 2.5% today, and once again said that it does not expect to make any changes in the near term. Given that the economy is likely to... 3rd June 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Focus From turbulence to tranquillity: are EM markets now too complacent? After a choppy 2013, financial markets have turned optimistic over the outlook for EMs in recent months. In many ways this makes sense. We were always of the view that last year’s concerns that Fed... 2nd June 2014 · 1 min read