Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkish rate hikes back on table amid post-election uncertainty The Turkish lira has stabilised today, but it remains vulnerable to further weakness. Faced with another leg down, we think the central bank might in the first instance lower the FX depo rate or scale... 9th June 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update What next for crisis-stricken Venezuela? With Venezuela’s economic crisis intensifying, attention is starting to focus on how the country might get out of this mess. Two options have been suggested in recent weeks – one is the establishment... 9th June 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone GDP Breakdown (Q1) The second estimate and breakdown of euro-zone GDP in Q1 confirmed that growth in the early months of the year was driven by domestic demand, presumably partly reflecting the positive effects of lower... 9th June 2015 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Statistics (Q1) The introduction of new mortgage regulations depressed mortgage lending over the past year, and has incentivised lenders to turn to the non-regulated sector. Non-regulated loans, mainly buy-to-let... 9th June 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Iceland GDP (Q1) Although Iceland’s economy contracted in Q1, the continued strength of domestic demand means that the central bank is still likely to start raising interest rates at tomorrow’s policy meeting. 9th June 2015 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Trade (Apr.) April’s trade figures should have provoked a bit of a sigh of relief. Although the near-term outlook for the external sector does not look fantastic, at least net trade this quarter looks unlikely to... 9th June 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Chart Pack Oversupply and weak demand drag energy prices down The most significant event in global energy markets over the last month was the biannual OPEC meeting, where the cartel confirmed that it would maintain the current output quota of 30 million barrels... 9th June 2015 · 1 min read
UK Data Response BRC Retail Sales Monitor (May) May’s BRC retail sales figures indicated that consumer spending is growing much more slowly than households’ incomes. But with unemployment low and confidence high, we still think that the income... 9th June 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update No California dreaming for Greece The repeated failure to agree on austerity measures together with threats of default and the prospect of IOUs have prompted comparisons between Greece’s situation and that in California in 2009. But... 9th June 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Data Response Czech & Hungary CPI (May) Stronger-than-expected inflation figures for last month in both the Czech Republic and Hungary will remove any lingering concerns about deflation. However, large amounts of spare capacity will keep... 9th June 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Consumer Confidence (May) The small drop in consumer confidence last month masks a rebound in households’ income expectations, which suggests that they may increasingly be willing to spend some of the windfall from lower... 9th June 2015 · 1 min read
China Data Response Consumer & Producer Prices (May.) Today's data support our view that, the usual volatility in food inflation aside, price pressures are rising and that deflation concerns are overplayed. 9th June 2015 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Iceland GDP (Q1 15) Although Iceland’s economy contracted in Q1, the continued strength of domestic demand means that the central bank is still likely to start raising interest rates at tomorrow’s policy meeting. 9th June 2015 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Would it be a big deal if A-shares were included in the MSCI? Many commentators have speculated that MSCI will add China’s “A-shares” to the MSCI China Index at its Annual Market Classification Review on 9th June. This would boost China’s weighting in its wider... 8th June 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update After the election: what next for Turkish politics? The market’s reaction to Sunday’s inconclusive Turkish parliamentary election was overwhelming negative. In this Update, we outline three scenarios to show how the political situation might develop. 8th June 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Ending Iceland’s capital controls not yet a done deal The Icelandic Government today presented its long-awaited plan to lift its capital controls after more than six years. While a detailed programme for their removal is a welcome step, the controversial... 8th June 2015 · 1 min read
