Emerging Europe Chart Pack Ukrainian default looking inevitable News that Ukraine’s government plans to hold “discussions” with bondholders has been widely interpreted as a precursor to some form of default, and dollar bond yields have jumped accordingly in recent... 29th January 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Ukraine’s move to curb wheat exports won’t stop prices falling Given ample global wheat supplies we don’t expect Ukraine’s announcement that it will limit wheat exports over the next six months to have much of an impact on the market. We therefore continue to... 29th January 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Data Response Economic Sentiment Indicators (Jan.) January’s Economic Sentiment Indicators dipped across most of Central and South Eastern Europe, but they were still strong and suggest that the region has continued to weather headwinds from Western... 29th January 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update How big a buffer do Russia’s FX reserves provide? We’re often asked about the extent to which Russia’s sizeable foreign exchange reserves provide a buffer against lower oil prices and capital flight and for how long they might last. There are lots of... 29th January 2015 · 1 min read
EM Valuations Monitor Will the surge in the EMBI+ spread be reversed? The “stripped” spread over US Treasuries of the JP Morgan EMBI+ Index of emerging market dollar-denominated government bonds has risen by a further 40bp over the past month to around 4.2%, well above... 28th January 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Data Response Russia Activity Data (Dec.) & anti-crisis measures The key point that stands out in December’s activity data for Russia is the sharp jump in retail sales growth. However, this reflects panic buying as the ruble collapsed at the end of last year. Hence... 28th January 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Focus What do lower oil prices mean for the emerging world? The collapse in global oil prices will provide a boost to most economies in the emerging world. However, it will come at the cost of weaker growth in the Middle East, and deep recessions in Russia and... 28th January 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungarian MPC hints that case for rate cuts is building The communiqué accompanying the Hungarian MPC’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged at 2.1% earlier today once again signalled that current monetary conditions are likely to stay in place for... 27th January 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Divergence in EM inflation to widen further in 2015 Inflation has diverged significantly across the emerging world over the past few months. While some economies have slipped into deflation, in a number of countries consumer prices are rising at a... 27th January 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Data Response Poland GDP (2014) The preliminary estimate of Polish annual 2014 GDP, which showed an expansion of 3.3% over the year as a whole, is consistent with a modest slowdown in economic growth from 3.3% y/y in Q3 to 3.0% y/y... 27th January 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Ruble crisis to force larger Russian bank recapitalisations The collapse in the ruble appears to have wiped out a large chunk of the Russian banking sector’s capital and we think the government will need to expand its current recapitalisation plans... 26th January 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update ECB QE provides modest bump to markets The ECB’s larger-than-expected quantitative easing programme has led to a rally in Central European equities and currencies, although this hasn’t been substantial. Meanwhile, the yields on Ukrainian... 23rd January 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Emerging Market Consumer Snapshot (Q1 2015) Lower oil prices should provide a welcome boost to incomes, and hence consumption, in large parts of the emerging world. We are particularly upbeat about the outlook for consumers in China, India, the... 23rd January 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update ECB QE and what it means for emerging markets The programme of asset purchases announced by the European Central Bank (ECB) earlier today was larger than had been expected only a few days ago, but fears that it could fuel destabilising inflows to... 22nd January 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russian government starting to face up to fiscal realities Today’s meeting between President Putin and government ministers to discuss anti-crisis measures and budget amendments suggests that the authorities are finally starting to acknowledge the new... 21st January 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Data Response Polish Industrial Production (Dec.) The rebound in Polish industrial production growth, to 8.4% y/y, last month was flattered by working day effects, but even so, it provides an encouraging early sign that the economy is weathering... 21st January 2015 · 1 min read