Global Markets Update US government bonds still fundamentally sound The recent rise in 10-year US Treasury yields has taken them further away from our end-2011 forecast of around 1.5% (at the time of writing they are around 2.15%). But we continue to expect yields to... 14th October 2011 · 1 min read
US Data Response International Trade (Aug.) The widening in the bilateral trade deficit with China to a record high in August is only going to make the trade protection bill passed by the Senate this week more popular. With fiscal and monetary... 14th October 2011 · 1 min read
Commodities Update China’s Imports of Commodities (Sep.) China’s commodity imports rose in the third quarter, particularly those of iron ore and copper. In our view, this was more a reflection of bargain-hunting rather than a strong upswing in underlying... 14th October 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korea’s central bank to cut next year The Bank of Korea (BoK) kept its base rate at 3.25% today, as expected. The BoK’s commentary suggests it still expects to resume rate increases once concerns over the outlook for the global economy... 14th October 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update What next for the ruble? Russian markets have been hit hard during the recent financial market turmoil: the RTS equity index was down by 18% in September and the ruble lost 10% against the dollar. While the currency and... 14th October 2011 · 1 min read
China Data Response NBS business conditions survey (Q3) China’s largest quarterly business survey, released today, reinforces the view that economic growth has steadied so far this year. Most firms expect conditions to worsen, though not dramatically. But... 14th October 2011 · 1 min read
China Data Response Foreign Trade (Sep) Chinese officials have given little sign they are worried that the euro-zone crisis will hurt China’s economy, preferring instead to keep their focus on tackling inflation. Today’s trade figures... 14th October 2011 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Lending continuing to recover Bank lending fell again in September in year-on-year terms, but at its slowest rate in almost two years. Lending has already bottomed out on a month-on-month basis and the annual rate of change is set... 14th October 2011 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Trade (Aug.) September’s unexpectedly sharp rise in headline CPI inflation from 4.5% to 5.2% came as a bit of a nasty surprise. But the key point is that inflation is very close to a peak and should soon start to... 14th October 2011 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Resource-poor countries most at risk from a global crisis The global economic crisis will affect the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region through a deterioration in world trade, falls in commodity prices and a drop in capital inflows. We expect that... 14th October 2011 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Median mortgage just as cheap as median rent The previous declines in house prices and the more recent drop in mortgage rates to record lows have created an unusual situation in which the median monthly mortgage payment is more or less the same... 13th October 2011 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Outlook A weak labour market will keep the housing market depressed House prices are likely to end 2011 in line with, or marginally lower than, last year. That will do little to alleviate the extent to which housing is overvalued. Against this backdrop, and with the... 13th October 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Mexican equity market highlights the risk of recession With the Mexican equity market registering three consecutive quarter-on-quarter falls over the course of 2011, the Bolsa may be pointing to a dreaded ‘double-dip’ recession. 13th October 2011 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Regional Monitor (Sep.) The latest regional data suggest that the northern regions of the UK have recently managed to grow at a similar, albeit sluggish, pace to those in the South. However, conditions in the northern labour... 13th October 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Currency depreciation unlikely to delay interest rate cuts for long We doubt that the recent sell-off of currencies in Latin America will cause inflation to rise significantly over the coming months. Indeed, with economic activity set to slow over the coming months... 13th October 2011 · 1 min read
