Global Economics Update Trump, tariffs and potential trigger points The steel and aluminium import tariffs announced by the US yesterday are unlikely to have a major impact on emerging economies but fears that they might presage a broader shift towards protectionism... 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Trump’s tariffs target commodities It was generally a negative week for commodity prices. Oil prices tumbled and precious metals prices were buffeted by Jerome Powell’s testimony, which all but ensured a rate hike this month. China’s... 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Declining tax competitiveness hurting investment The 2018 Federal budget delivered earlier this week, which kept corporate income tax rates unchanged, failed to address the unease among executives about business taxation, in light of the large tax... 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update PM’s speech delivers less cake and more realism On the basis of this week’s developments, an agreement on a transition deal by the March European Council meeting hangs in the balance. Meanwhile, the Brexit vision that the Prime Minister set out on... 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
Energy Chart Pack Equity markets led, oil prices followed Energy prices were volatile in February, buffeted by equity market gyrations and changing weather forecasts. Oil prices were particularly frothy, but still slumped on the month as US production... 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Risk of another Q1 wobble appears to be rising Our long-held belief that a rebound in core inflation and faster economic growth, partly due to fiscal stimulus, would prompt the Fed to hike interest rates four times this year is rapidly becoming... 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response GDP (Q4 2017) The weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter GDP growth of 1.7% q/q annualised, following a downward-revised 1.5% pace in the previous quarter, was driven by household consumption and housing which, with... 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Trump, tariffs and potential triggers The steel and aluminium import tariffs announced by the US yesterday are unlikely to have a major impact on emerging economies but fears that they might presage a broader shift towards protectionism... 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly Manufacturing recovery has further to run Recent data have raised fears that the long-awaited recovery in the manufacturing sector is coming to an end before it really had a chance to get going. One possible explanation for the recent... 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Has euro-zone growth peaked? The latest survey indicators all suggest that GDP growth in the euro-zone has peaked. That said, the economic recovery looks set to continue at a healthy pace over the next few years. 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Update What will US tariffs mean for steel prices? President Trump’s announcement of tariffs on steel and aluminium imports was expected. But what is perhaps more surprising is that the tariffs are particularly punitive and threaten to ignite... 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update How big a deal are the US tariffs? Steel and aluminium account for about 2% of world trade, so the direct impact on the global economy of the tariffs President Trump announced yesterday would be minimal. But the fact that they are... 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
UK Commercial Property Data Response CIPS/Markit Construction PMI (Feb.) February’s rise in the CIPS/Markit Construction PMI was an encouraging sign as it stemmed from an improvement in both commercial and residential construction activity. Yet, there was no evidence to... 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus TARGET2 imbalances highlight euro-zone’s continued problems The large imbalances in the euro-zone’s TARGET2 payments system indicate that all is still not quite right in the region. There are some good reasons to expect the imbalances to narrow again over the... 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Pain ahead for property developers China’s property sector has had a good couple of years and this has resulted in higher valuations for listed real estate developers. But the recent strength of land sales points, we think, to... 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
