Global Markets Update US Treasuries to benefit from more than just Fed policy The relatively subdued response of US Treasuries to the outcome of Wednesday’s FOMC meeting underlines the fact that while monetary policy should provide a firm anchor for long-term yields over the... 26th January 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response New Home Sales (Dec.) The fledgling recovery in housing market activity has yet to encompass the new homes market, where sales fell in December. The bottom line is that new home sales are unlikely to rise significantly... 26th January 2012 · 1 min read
US Employment Report Preview Benchmark revision adds to the uncertainty After incorporating the “known knowns”, our econometric model suggests that payrolls rose by around 150,000 in January, which would be less than December’s 200,000 gain. The “known unknowns” of the... 26th January 2012 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (Nov.) November's non-farm payroll survey data, which showed little change in average weekly wages and only a modest increase in employment of 12,261, was somewhat discouraging at first glance. Nonetheless... 26th January 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Chart Pack A flying start, but can it last? Financial markets in Latin America have made a flying start to 2012 following a recovery in global risk appetite and an improvement in the incoming economic data. Nonetheless, we would caution against... 26th January 2012 · 1 min read
US Data Response Durable Goods Orders (Dec.) December's durable goods orders figures are encouraging, suggesting that after stagnating in the fourth quarter of last year, business investment started to pick up again right at the end of that... 26th January 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Cotton rally set to unravel Optimism about China’s demand and an improvement in general risk appetite among investors have led to a 10% increase in the benchmark Memphis cotton price, to around 90 cents per lb, from its 2011 low... 26th January 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Savings hold the key to dealing with falling commodity prices The recent rebound in commodity prices has eased concerns about growth outlook for Latin America. But the key point remains that the windfall from high prices has been spent, rather than saved... 26th January 2012 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Policymakers in no hurry to loosen Policy loosening in China has got off to a slow start. The People’s Bank chose not to cut the required reserve ratio (RRR) ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday, confounding widespread expectations... 26th January 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update New Zealand’s cash rate to stay low in 2013 The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) kept its policy rate at 2.5% today, as was widely anticipated. Most analysts expect policy to be tightened significantly over the next two years. In contrast, we... 26th January 2012 · 1 min read
UK Commercial Property Chart Pack Capital values edge down All-property initial yields rose from 6.19% in November to 6.22% in December. Aside from a temporary blip in October 2010, that was the first rise in yields since June 2009. In turn, capital values... 26th January 2012 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Fed's anticipates that rates are on hold until late 2014 The publication today of the first set of interest rate projections by the FOMC heralded a historic change in the way that the Fed conducts monetary policy, but had little practical impact on market... 25th January 2012 · 1 min read
Euro-zone departures to exacerbate the downturn The euro-zone stands on the brink of a deep recession which will encompass all member states. Emerging European economies have less scope to loosen policy in response to a drop in euro-zone output... 25th January 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Syria: A prolonged crisis is on the cards The Arab League’s uncharacteristically unified position on Syria last year has quickly reversed. While some countries, led by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), favour a tough stance, others... 25th January 2012 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update A deepening liquidity trap would be bad news for equities Writing in today’s Financial Times, Gavyn Davies argues that “nominal equity returns may be held back by low inflation but in real terms they should outperform government bonds, even if the liquidity... 25th January 2012 · 1 min read
