Bank of Canada Watch Don't rule out future interest rate cuts The FDIC’s banking profile for the fourth quarter of last year shows that US banks are well placed to continue boosting lending to both firms and households. At the same time, there is not much... 26th February 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Chart Pack Exporters still struggling Latin American exporters remain stuck in rut. We estimate that the region’s export revenues grew by a mere 1% in 2012. A key factor in this poor performance has been that the prices of commodities –... 26th February 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Fiscal Monitor (Feb. 13) Greece, Ireland and Portugal continued to make solid fiscal progress at the beginning of 2013. But Italy and Spain are likely to have missed their fiscal goals for 2012. 26th February 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Case-Shiller Prices & New Home Sales (Q4/Jan.) House prices ended 2012 on a high note and new home sales got off to a very strong start in 2013. Put simply, the housing recovery continues to accelerate. 26th February 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungary cuts again, attention turns to new Governor The impending change at the helm of Hungary’s central bank will lead to further cuts in interest rates over the coming months. But the scope for easing will be determined in large part by whether... 26th February 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South Africa: pick-up in Q4 GDP masks underlying weakness South African Q4 GDP surprised on the upside but, 2009 aside, the economy still grew at its slowest pace for well over a decade last year. The drag from the mining sector is likely to ease over the... 26th February 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Economic fundamentals point to softening German investment market Supported by a wider improvement in financial markets, investment demand for German commercial property surged in Q4 last year, despite the economy contracting sharply. But risk appetite looks to be... 26th February 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update UAE equities up on recovery hopes Equities in the UAE have rallied over the past few months on hopes that the economic recovery is gathering pace. Elsewhere in the region, the Egyptian pound has stabilised recently following the CBE’s... 26th February 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Bernanke weighs the costs and benefits of more QE Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's semi-annual congressional testimony confirmed that the FOMC is paying a lot more attention to the potential costs of continuing with its quantitative easing this year... 26th February 2013 · 1 min read
US Data Response Conf. Board Consumer Confidence (Feb.) Despite lower household income and surging gasoline prices, consumers were relatively upbeat in February. The Conference Board's measure of consumer confidence rose for the first time in four months... 26th February 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Norway’s housing boom won’t force rates higher Norway is in the midst of a long housing boom, but prices are not as over-valued as some valuation measures suggest. Given other downward risks to the economic outlook, we think that interest rates... 26th February 2013 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Could the downgrade be a good thing? The sanguine market reaction to the loss of the UK’s triple-A credit rating begs the question of whether it might actually have some positive effects on the economy. But the key point is that the... 26th February 2013 · 1 min read
UK Data Response CBI Distributive Trades Survey (Feb.) February’s CBI Distributive Trades Survey suggested that the momentum enjoyed by retailers in the first month of the year is fading. Pressures on household budgets, not least the recent jump in petrol... 26th February 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Political deadlock could push Italy towards a bail-out The inconclusive outcome of the Italian election looks set to prompt a renewed bout of market pressure which may eventually force Italy to request a support package from the euro-zone. 26th February 2013 · 1 min read
Capital Daily How worried is Bernanke about the costs of quantitative easing? 26th February 2013 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Norway’s housing boom won’t force rates higher Norway is in the midst of a long housing boom, but prices are not as over-valued as some valuation measures suggest. Given other downward risks to the economic outlook, we think that interest rates... 26th February 2013 · 1 min read
