US Economics Update Firms continue to hoard cash overseas The cash held overseas by US firms has continued to grow at a rapid pace, rising to almost $2.5tn in 2015. The substantial tax bill most firms would face if they attempted to bring this cash home... 19th September 2016 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update What are the alternatives to a points-based migration system? The Prime Minister’s rejection of a points-based migration system (PBS) has left several alternatives which may have more beneficial economic effects. In reality though, the UK’s migration policy... 19th September 2016 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Data Response Poland Industrial Production & Retail Sales (Aug.) The sharp improvement in last month’s Polish activity data will ease concerns of a slowdown sparked by July’s weak figures. Our GDP Tracker suggests that growth picked up to around 3.0% y/y last month... 19th September 2016 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update United Russia’s election victory reinforces Putin’s grip on power The sweeping victory for United Russia in Sunday’s parliamentary vote reinforces the view that President Putin’s grip on power hasn’t been shaken by two years of recession. The direction of policy is... 19th September 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Watch Bulging stocks to weigh on the prices of grains & soybeans Supply of the main grains and soybeans looks set to rise in 2016/17, after adverse weather –notably in Latin America – dented harvests in 2015/16. That said, many analysts suspect that the United... 19th September 2016 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Aug.) Negative interest rates are undermining the profitability of financial institutions asbanks have slashed lending rates. However, lower borrowing costs have yet to resultin stronger credit demand. 19th September 2016 · 1 min read
China Economics Update The view from the ground – Q3 2016 Banks, firms and households have all become more upbeat on the economic outlook recently, according to the latest People’s Bank surveys released over the weekend. In particular, households appear more... 19th September 2016 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update RBA tweaks its policy agreement Philip Lowe’s first job as RBA Governor has been to emphasise the medium-term nature of the 2-3% inflation target and highlight how the RBA juggles this with its often conflicting objective of... 19th September 2016 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update SNB to remain in strongly accommodative mode Despite the improvement in financial market conditions, continued recovery of the Swiss economy and softening of the franc, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) re-emphasised today that it intends to... 19th September 2016 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Attention to return to the Fed The price of oil has taken a hit this week as hopes faded of an OPEC-led agreement between producers to freeze output. However, other industrial commodities performed somewhat better, buoyed by the... 16th September 2016 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Brexit Watch: Further monetary policy easing to come This week’s informal summit in Bratislava is unlikely to be a turning point in the Brexit saga, but itwill highlight how the UK’s vote to leave the bloc is likely to force faster change within the EU... 16th September 2016 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Markets still relatively sanguine about the election Hillary Clinton’s recent stumble, both figuratively and literally, appears to have thrown the US presidential election race wide open again. The conventional wisdom is that the markets could react... 16th September 2016 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hawkish Russian MPC still likely to cut The surprisingly hawkish comments by the Russian central bank Governor at this afternoon’s post-MPC meeting press-conference mean that policy easing is likely to be more gradual than we previously... 16th September 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Household debt continues to rise The focus remained on the nation’s housing boom last week, with figures released showing that house prices continued to rise rapidly last month, even as home sales fell further in the aftermath of the... 16th September 2016 · 1 min read
US Economics Update UoM Consumer Confidence (Sep.) The University of Michigan measure of consumer confidence was unchanged at a five-month low of 89.8 in September, although it is still at a level that, historically, has been consistent with real... 16th September 2016 · 1 min read
