Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Will the war trigger a debt crisis in Dubai? The Iran war has already caused tourist arrivals to Dubai to collapse and, over a longer horizon, it could dampen the Emirate’s appeal to expatriate workers and firms seeking to set up in the region... 16th April 2026 · 4 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungary’s election: your questions answered This Update answers the questions that we received during our Drop-in on Hungary’s election result. (An on-demand recording is available here.) The primary implication of the opposition Tisza party’s... 13th April 2026 · 6 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update The state of play ahead of Hungary’s election The opposition Tisza party heads into Hungary’s election this weekend as the favourite but may still fall short of the two-thirds supermajority needed to deliver deep institutional reform and unlock... 9th April 2026 · 4 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil: rising NPLs will keep credit conditions tight The rise in Brazil’s non-performing loan (NPL) ratio to its highest level in over a decade doesn’t appear to be a threat to financial stability. But it is symptomatic of very high interest rates and... 1st April 2026 · 3 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Chart Pack Emerging Markets Chart Pack (March 2026) The conflict in the Middle East will lead to sharp falls in GDP in the Gulf economies and weigh on energy importers, especially in Asia. EM energy producers outside the Gulf will see a terms-of-trade... 12th March 2026 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Where might energy subsidy bills worsen fiscal strains? The sharp rise in energy prices threatens to raise the cost of energy subsidies across many emerging markets. Those governments with the largest subsidy bills also tend to be energy producers that... 11th March 2026 · 4 mins read
Africa Economics Update Easing sovereign debt risks bolster the region’s resilience The shock from the conflict in the Middle East has only had a modest impact on government borrowing costs in Africa, reflecting a marked improvement in sovereign risk profiles in the last few years... 10th March 2026 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Chile: the challenges facing President Kast Investors will welcome Chile’s new right-wing President José Antonio Kast – who will be sworn into office on Wednesday – but we doubt that he’ll be able to reinvigorate the copper sector and carry out... 10th March 2026 · 5 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Poland: gold reserve plan highlights fiscal pressures Proposals by Polish policymakers to use valuation gains from the central bank’s gold reserves to finance defence spending highlight the growing strain on the public finances from the large budget... 10th March 2026 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly South Africa Budget, Kenya’s monetary easing cycle South Africa's government opted – as we expected - to use its 2026 Budget to give away its recent revenue windfall. That it was able to do so reflects the remarkable turnaround in the public finances... 27th February 2026 · 6 mins read
Africa Economics Update How a fiscal rule would help South Africa There’s growing talk that South Africa’s government could introduce a fiscal rule at this week’s Budget. If so, this would strengthen fiscal credibility and help to lock-in the recent falls in local... 23rd February 2026 · 5 mins read
Latin America Economics Focus Brazil’s pension problem rears its head again There’s a growing acknowledgement that Brazil’s 2019 pension reform didn’t go far enough to ease fiscal pressures from the social security system. Indeed, Brazil is likely to see one of the largest... 19th February 2026 · 13 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly US-Iran, Kuwait’s budget, Saudi inflation, AI in the Gulf Unless Iran makes major concessions to reach a new nuclear deal with the US, the threat of US military intervention will rise - particularly given the build-up of forces in the region. Elsewhere... 19th February 2026 · 6 mins read
Long Run Economic Outlook US and Asia to lead the AI decade Global growth will slow in the long run as population growth weakens and the scope for emerging market catch-up narrows, but there will be bright spots. We are increasingly confident that advances in... 18th February 2026 · 1 hr, 9 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Does Hungary need a US financial backstop? Marcio Rubio’s comments this week that the US might provide financial support to Hungary if needed seems to have been welcomed by local financial markets. Hungary’s public finances are not in good... 18th February 2026 · 3 mins read
