India Economics Update Finance Ministry begins to see the bigger picture The Finance Ministry’s combative approach to some key issues, including the retrospective taxation of foreign companies and the potential composition of the proposed monetary policy committee, has... 30th September 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Industrial Production & Retail Sales (Aug.) The second consecutive drop in industrial production in August suggests that Japan’s economy shrank yet again in the quarter that ends today. Additional easing by the Bank of Japan next month looks... 30th September 2015 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Icelandic interest rates on hold, but more hikes to come Today’s decision by Iceland’s central bank to leave its main interest rates on hold merely marks apause for breath in its tightening cycle. We think that further rate rises will be needed before the... 30th September 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Chart Pack Brazil’s crisis deepens Brazil has slipped deeper into crisis over the past month. The slump in the real economy has gathered pace, with our GDP Tracker now suggesting the output could have contracted by up to 4% y/y in Q3... 29th September 2015 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Aug.) The annual growth rate of our M3 money measure accelerated to a five-month high of 5.6% in August, from 5.2%. The growth rates of the narrower M1 and M2 monetary aggregates are even higher. 29th September 2015 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Platinum plummets as VW scandal engulfs Audi and Skoda The platinum price is trading close to the lowest level in over six years in response to revelations that Volkswagen (VW) was not alone in cheating on emissions tests for its diesel cars in the US and... 29th September 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Watch What would a hard landing in China mean for energy commodities? Fears about China’s economy have dominated headlines in recent months and have been the main factor behind the weakness in commodity prices. We have argued in previous publications that most of these... 29th September 2015 · 1 min read
EM Valuations Monitor Dollar bond credit spreads unlikely to balloon We do not expect the stripped spread of the JP Morgan EMBI Global Index to rise much further. But with US Treasury yields likely to increase substantially in the months ahead, we think the overall... 29th September 2015 · 1 min read
US Data Response Conference Board Consumer Confidence (Sep.) The increase in the Conference Board measure of consumer confidence to 103.0 in September, from 101.3 suggests that lower gasoline prices trumped the fading impact from the financial market turmoil a... 29th September 2015 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Will China fuel a recovery in German automobile shares? While the emissions scandal has been responsible for the recent plunge in the share price of Volkswagen Group, the bigger picture is that the share prices of German car manufacturers have been sliding... 29th September 2015 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Case-Shiller House Prices (Jul.) By posting a 0.5% gain during July, the national Case-Shiller index of house prices is beginning to move into line with other measures which have shown far stronger house price gains in recent months... 29th September 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Brexit would allow a more sensible migration policy It is generally assumed that a UK exit from the EU would lead to a sharp drop in migration, reducing the pool of labour and undermining economic growth. However, a Brexit could lead to a more sensible... 29th September 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Ukrainian bonds rally on debt deal Ukraine’s debt-restructuring deal has led to a rally in the country’s bond market and eased pressure on the hryvnia . Meanwhile, although most of the region’s equity markets have fallen over the past... 29th September 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Household Borrowing Monitor (Aug.) Growth in household borrowing strengthened in August. Even so, there is little to suggest that brisk consumer spending has been founded on an unsustainable increase in credit. 29th September 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Flash CPI (Sep.) September’s drop in inflation back below zero for the first time since January highlights that price pressures are very subdued and will add to pressure on the ECB to increase its policy support. 29th September 2015 · 1 min read