Asia Economics Update Korean interest rates to remain on hold until late 2015 Rising levels of household debt suggest further rate cuts by the Bank of Korea, which today left interest rates on hold at 2.0%, are unlikely. In fact, with GDP growth set to accelerate in the coming... 11th December 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update New Zealand set for prolonged rate pause The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) kept its policy rate at 3.5% today and suggested rates will be left on hold for some time. We doubt the central bank will raise rates again before Q3 of next... 11th December 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Machinery Orders (Oct.) The decline in machinery orders in October follows four increases in a row and is therefore not necessarily a disaster. We think that business investment will start to rebound soon. 11th December 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update SNB will need to act against the franc very soon While the Swiss National Bank (SNB) left policy on hold today, it reaffirmed its “utmost determination” to defend its ceiling for the franc exchange rate. It may introduce a negative interest rate to... 11th December 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Swedish CPI (Nov. 14) The renewed fall in Sweden’s headline inflation rate in November will maintain the pressure on the Riksbank to push back the date at which it first expects to raise rates from the middle of 2016 when... 11th December 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Iceland prepares to lift capital controls but delays likely The Icelandic Government’s preparations to scale back capital controls early next year certainly represent a positive first step towards lifting the restrictions. However, we remain cautious at this... 10th December 2014 · 1 min read
Capital Daily Russia’s central bank set to hike its key policy rate again 10th December 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update What will be the fall-out from the latest Greek crisis? Contagion effects from Greece’s latest crisis have so far been reassuringly limited. But that may not last and the episode is a reminder that even those economies which have cut their budget deficits... 10th December 2014 · 1 min read
US Fed Watch Fed to drop “considerable time” language The upcoming two-day FOMC meeting, which concludes next Wednesday (17th December), should provide a clear signal whether our non-consensus call that the Fed will hike rates as soon as next March is... 10th December 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Trade Monitor Falling commodity prices douse the EM export recovery The recent modest recovery in EM exports stalled in October as global growth lost some momentum and sharp falls in commodity prices added to difficulties facing commodity exporters. More timely data... 10th December 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Four charts that show Venezuela is in a crisis All of the signs suggest that Venezuela is already suffering an economic crisis, making it highly likely that the government will default on its foreign currency debt. 10th December 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Banks in the Gulf well placed to weather low oil prices The slump in oil prices has caused concerns to emerge about the exposure of financial institutions to energy companies, but for banks in the Gulf this risk seems small. They are more vulnerable to a... 10th December 2014 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Trade (Oct.) While the trade deficit narrowed in October, we would caution against reading too much into this improvement. Trade data are very volatile and exporters look likely to struggle further over the coming... 10th December 2014 · 1 min read
UK Commercial Property Update Is the plateau in deals signalling a peak for capital value growth? Property transactions seem to have hit a plateau, supporting our view that we may be very close to the peak for capital value growth. What’s more, the share of deals accounted for by overseas buyers... 10th December 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Egypt Consumer Prices (Nov.) Egyptian inflation fell sharply last month on the back of easing food price pressures. If inflation remains in single digits over the coming months, it could prompt the Central Bank of Egypt to cut... 10th December 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Data Response Turkey GDP (Q3) Today’s weaker-than-expected Turkish Q3 GDP data highlighted that domestic demand remained extremely sluggish and are likely to result in further government pressure on the central bank to lower... 10th December 2014 · 1 min read
