Middle East & North Africa Economics Focus Will Egypt monetise its budget deficit? There are mounting concerns about the prospect of deficit monetisation in Egypt. Indeed, thereappears to be some evidence that the central bank is already financing the budget shortfall, albeiton a... 12th September 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update What next for the Egyptian pound? Following the recent strengthening of the Egyptian pound, we have revised our year-end forecast for the currency. But in this Watch, we explain why we still think that, over a longer horizon, the... 10th September 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update External financing risks persist in South Africa South Africa’s current account deficit widened in Q2, and the shortfall continues to be funded in largepart by short-term capital inflows. As a result, the economy remains among the most vulnerable to... 10th September 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Subsidy reform key to sustaining fiscal discipline The widening of fiscal deficits in several economies in sub-Saharan Africa over the past few years has increased the importance of subsidy reform. The good news is that policymakers are starting to... 9th September 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Growth in Morocco and Tunisia to remain sluggish Signs of recovery in the euro-zone are encouraging for Morocco and Tunisia. But political problems and large twin fiscal and current account deficits will continue to cloud the economic outlook. 5th September 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Next move in Kenyan interest rates likely to be up African currencies have come under renewed pressure in August, with the South African rand and the Ghanaian cedi suffering more than most. But while currencies have weakened, local equity markets have... 3rd September 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM PMI signals modest improvement in manufacturing Our EM-wide PMI suggests that emerging market manufacturing improved a little last month. The recovery in the euro-zone in recent months appears to have boosted external demand, particularly in... 3rd September 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egyptian economy suffers in aftermath of “second revolution” August’s PMI data provide evidence that the Egyptian economy is still suffering following the country’s “second revolution”. Meanwhile, the Saudi non-oil economy has picked-up. 3rd September 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update BRIC GDP growth propped up by Brazil rebound in Q2 At an aggregate level, the second quarter GDP data suggest that the BRIC economies held up relatively well in Q2. However, this was largely due to a surprisingly strong rebound in Brazil. In the other... 2nd September 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South African manufacturing recovery gathers steam The South African manufacturing PMI rose to a six-year high in August, indicating a further uptick in overall GDP growth in Q3. But relatively high wage increases agreed in the past month or so are... 2nd September 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Currencies still under pressure African currencies have come under renewed pressure in August, with the South African rand and the Ghanaian cedi suffering more than most. But while currencies have weakened, local equity markets have... 30th August 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt’s stimulus plan comes with risks attached Egypt’s newly-announced stimulus package stands a chance of boosting the beleaguered economy in the near-term. But with the package being funded by Gulf aid, over the longer-term, it could actually... 29th August 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Chart Pack Nigeria on course to become region’s largest economy Economic growth in both South Africa and Nigeria accelerated a little in Q2, but there are important differences in the performance of the region’s two largest economies. In South Africa, GDP growth... 28th August 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Latest unrest has muted impact on Egyptian markets Egypt’s financial markets appear to have taken the latest outbreaks of violence in their stride. The equity market is actually up since the start of the month, while bond yields remain below the level... 28th August 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South Africa: pick-up in Q2 GDP masks underlying weakness After growing at its slowest quarterly pace in almost four years in Q1, it was always likely that South African GDP would accelerate in Q2. Nevertheless, the pick-up in growth shouldn’t detract from... 27th August 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Should we still worry about EM currency crises? Improved fundamentals mean that currency crises pose a much smaller risk to Emerging Markets now than in the past. But it would be unwise to assume that the coast is therefore clear for the emerging... 26th August 2013 · 1 min read
