Japan Data Response Business Outlook Survey (Q1) The reported deterioration in business conditions in today’s Business Outlook Survey partly reflects seasonal factors. Nonetheless, the survey suggests that economic activity will remain sluggish in... 12th March 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Political crisis now biggest threat to Brazil’s economy The corruption scandal at state-owned oil company, Petrobras, has developed over the past week or so into a full-blown national political crisis that, in our view, is now the biggest headwind facing... 11th March 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Data Response US Weekly Petroleum Status Report The latest data from the EIA suggest that the surge in gasoline stocks may have run its course as demand picks up, but stocks of crude oil are likely to continue to rise. 11th March 2015 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update A selection of our key calls This note summarises our key calls on major economies and markets, emphasising where we differ from the consensus. In particular, we forecast US interest rates to rise sooner and further than... 11th March 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Madrid all-property yields set to stay below those in Milan Historically, all-property yields in Madrid have tended to be higher than those in Milan. Yet over the past year, that spread has reversed. Given Spain’s stronger economic prospects and the outlook... 11th March 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Corn stocks revised down, but still huge Although the price of corn has been boosted by a downward revision to estimated global year-end stock levels, this isn’t enough to alter the underlying market situation. We continue to expect the... 11th March 2015 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Copper stocks rise again Factors unrelated to physical demand continue to drive stock movements. However, a lull in activity around Chinese new year was also an issue in February. We expect the rise in copper stocks to be... 11th March 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update How low will the euro go? Rising expectations for US interest rates and an escalation of the Greek crisis could push the euro down to parity against the US dollar and beyond. But we expect it to stage a partial recovery in... 11th March 2015 · 1 min read
US Fed Watch Fed close to embarking on return to normality With the labour market still evidently on fire in February, we expect the FOMC statement next Wednesday to omit the language that the Fed can be "patient" in beginning to normalise monetary policy... 11th March 2015 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Industrial Production (Jan.) The latest industrial production figures provided further disappointing signs that the sector’s recovery is struggling to re-gain momentum, after almost grinding to a halt in the fourth quarter. But... 11th March 2015 · 1 min read
EM Markets Chart Pack Fragile EM currencies set for further weakness The fall in emerging market currencies since the beginning of this year has picked up pace this month. Two main forces appear to have been at work. First, the depreciation of the euro has led the... 11th March 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Is German wage growth finally taking off? The latest data on German wage growth suggest that pay is finally beginning to respond to the long labour market recovery. With deflation offering a further boost to real wage growth, we expect the... 11th March 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Swedish Consumer Prices (Feb.) Sweden’s headline inflation rate turned positive in February for the first time in eight months. But deflationary pressures have not disappeared altogether and we continue to think that the Riksbank... 11th March 2015 · 1 min read
China Data Response Activity & Spending (Jan. & Feb.) The slowdown in activity at the start of 2015 was even sharper than today’s headline figures might suggest because a bout of weakness a year before had provided a flattering base for comparison... 11th March 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Ukraine’s debt restructuring: five key questions It looks all but inevitable that Ukraine will need to restructure its public debts, but there’s a huge amount of uncertainty about what the restructuring might look like. To shed some light, in this... 11th March 2015 · 1 min read
