UK Housing Market Data Response RICS Residential Market Survey (Dec.) Despite a slight improvement in the data, stock levels remain near historic lows and look unlikely to recover soon. But given that house prices are already very high, neither the shortage of stock nor... 19th January 2017 · 1 min read
India Economics Update Decent start to 2017 Financial markets in India have made a relatively bright start to 2017. The rupee and bond yields have been stable, while equities have rallied so far in January. Looking ahead however, prospects are... 19th January 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Malaysian rates to stay on hold in 2017 Today’s decision by Malaysia’s central bank (BNM) to keep interest rates on hold at 3.0% came as no surprise. With the economy now recovering and the ringgit vulnerable to turns in investor sentiment... 19th January 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Chart Pack External sector won’t fuel a rapid rebound The Australian economy has started to reap some benefits from the rise in key commodity prices towards the end of last year. Most obviously, the trade balance has swung into surplus for the first... 19th January 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia Labour Market (Dec.) While the labour market improved in December from the weakness of the third quarter, it remained worryingly fragile. This is one reason to expect 2017 to be another disappointing year for the overall... 19th January 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Key takeaways from the IMF’s Staff Report on Egypt The conditions attached to Egypt’s IMF loan, details of which were released earlier today, suggest that a significant fiscal squeeze is in the pipeline this year, while monetary policy will remain... 18th January 2017 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Business investment set to recover Having contracted sharply last year, fixed investment across Latin America looks set to return to growth in 2017. With consumer spending likely to remain under pressure, a pick-up in investment will... 18th January 2017 · 1 min read
US Economics Focus Border adjustment: the good, the bad and the ugly Although President-elect Donald Trump is concerned it would be “too complicated”, the House Republicans’ proposal to transform the corporate tax into a so-called destination based cash flow tax (DBCFT... 18th January 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Are the risks to Southern European property on the rise? Political and economic uncertainty this year could drive increased volatility in sovereign bond yields in Southern Europe. But in the absence of a sharp and sustained shift higher, we think prime... 18th January 2017 · 1 min read
OPEC Watch Nigeria and Saudi Arabia pull OPEC output lower OPEC oil production fell last month, but this was partly due to temporary disruptions in Nigeria. Meanwhile, the group expects non-OPEC output to increase this year. 18th January 2017 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Bank of Canada in wait-and-see mode Given the considerable uncertainty surrounding exactly what policies the incoming Trump administration will pursue south of the border, we have every sympathy with the Bank of Canada’s decision to... 18th January 2017 · 1 min read
US Data Response Consumer Prices & Industrial Production (Dec.) With the earlier sharp falls in energy prices now dropping out of the annual comparison, base effects helped to lift headline CPI inflation back above 2% in December, for the first time since mid-2014... 18th January 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update What do Trump’s latest comments mean for Europe? The US President-elect’s perceived attempts to talk the dollar down and threat to impose tariffs on BMW imports to the US have limited implications for the euro-zone’s export prospects. But his... 18th January 2017 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update How sustainable is the recovery in the gold price? After slumping in the days following Trump’s win, the price of gold has since recovered some ground and is now trading at around $1,200 per ounce. However, we think that risks are now skewed to the... 18th January 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi balance of payments position to continue to improve The latest data show that Saudi Arabia’s balance of payments position improved markedly towards the end of 2016 and, with oil prices likely to grind higher this year, this trend looks set to continue... 18th January 2017 · 1 min read
