Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Equity markets rebound on back of Syria deal & Fed decision Equity markets have recovered some of their earlier lost ground as concerns overWestern military intervention in Syria, as well as fears of a tapering of QE3 by theUS Federal Reserve, have eased. 25th September 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update African markets rally as Fed delays tapering The surprise decision by the US Fed to delay the tapering of its asset purchases this month has provided a temporary reprieve for emerging market assets, including those in Africa. In light of this... 23rd September 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update More Egyptian rate cuts could be on the way The Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) decision to cut interest rates by 50bp today shows that policymakers are fully focussed on supporting the economy. With the backing of aid from the Gulf, additional... 19th September 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Gulf economies gathering pace Growth in the Gulf States appears to have accelerated in recent months. Oil production has surged in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, at least in part as a response to supply disruptions in Libya. And in the... 18th September 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Focus Will Egypt monetise its budget deficit? There are mounting concerns about the prospect of deficit monetisation in Egypt. Indeed, thereappears to be some evidence that the central bank is already financing the budget shortfall, albeiton a... 12th September 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update What next for the Egyptian pound? Following the recent strengthening of the Egyptian pound, we have revised our year-end forecast for the currency. But in this Watch, we explain why we still think that, over a longer horizon, the... 10th September 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egyptian economy suffers in aftermath of “second revolution” August’s PMI data provide evidence that the Egyptian economy is still suffering following the country’s “second revolution”. Meanwhile, the Saudi non-oil economy has picked-up. 3rd September 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt’s stimulus plan comes with risks attached Egypt’s newly-announced stimulus package stands a chance of boosting the beleaguered economy in the near-term. But with the package being funded by Gulf aid, over the longer-term, it could actually... 29th August 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Latest unrest has muted impact on Egyptian markets Egypt’s financial markets appear to have taken the latest outbreaks of violence in their stride. The equity market is actually up since the start of the month, while bond yields remain below the level... 28th 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
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt’s economy struggling even before the “second revolution” The latest Egyptian activity data suggest that the economy was suffering even before the armed forces ousted President Morsi at the start of last month. Needless to say, growth has slowed even further... 13th August 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt’s “second revolution” takes a heavy toll on the economy July’s PMIs suggest that the Egyptian economy has weakened further against the backdrop of the “secondrevolution”. Meanwhile, non-oil sectors in the Gulf continue to grow at a robust pace. 5th August 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
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Gulf aid not a long-term solution to Egypt’s problems The aid that Gulf states have granted to Egypt since the ousting of President Morsi should be sufficient to cover the country’s external financing requirement for almost a year. Accordingly, the... 16th 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