UK Economics Chart Pack Reviving investment helping economy to rebalance Although net trade dragged on GDP growth in the first quarter, a more encouraging development from the point of view of a rebalancing of the economy was the 1.7% quarterly rise in real business... 3rd June 2015 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Kenya: shilling weakness no cause for panic The recent weakness of the Kenyan shilling is not, as some local media has alleged, the first sign of an impending balance of payments crisis. The shilling will probably continue to depreciate, but... 3rd June 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Weak yen not to blame for Korean export woes Subdued global demand, rather than the strength of the Korean won against the Japanese yen is to blame for the poor recent performance of Korean exports. 1st June 2015 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Is real GDP really mis-measured? The evidence of a seasonal quirk in the first-quarter GDP growth figures is pretty overwhelming. The same skewed pattern appears to have repeated itself this year too, with the 0.7% contraction in GDP... 29th May 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Asian growth eases in Q1 despite lower oil prices Growth in Emerging Asia eased slightly last quarter, despite the boost from lower oil prices. Weak exports haven’t helped, but it has been the reluctance of consumers to spend their windfall from... 29th May 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly Encouraging signs beneath Q1 weakness Last week ended with a general sense of relative pessimism, following the lack of the expected upgrade to Q1’s GDP figure and the news that net trade was a big drag on the economy. But we are not too... 29th May 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Indonesia still looks vulnerable Today’s handover from military to civilian rule in Myanmar marks another welcome step forward in the country’s political development. But the new government must overcome a number of major challenges... 28th May 2015 · 1 min read
UK Data Response GDP: Second Estimate & Expenditure Breakdown (Q1) The lack of any upward revision to GDP in Q1 was a bit disappointing, but the figures will probably still be revised further ahead. Meanwhile, the big drag from net trade was hardly good news, but the... 28th May 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Saudi Arabia and Egypt follow divergent paths The latest activity data suggest that the MENA region’s two largest economies, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have headed in opposite directions at the start of 2015. After recording strong growth last year... 27th May 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response External trade (Apr.) The trade balance returned to deficit in April and will likely remain in the red in coming months. 25th May 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Chart Pack Q1 GDP data confirm EM downturn Most emerging economies have made a weak start to the year. The Q1 GDP data released so far point to a slowdown in aggregate EM economic growth and early activity data for April suggest that this has... 22nd May 2015 · 1 min read
Global Trade Monitor Slowdown in world trade growth not as bad as it looks The sharp slowdown in trade growth since the start of the year partly reflects the weakening in the world economy in the first quarter. However, trade has also been depressed by a series of temporary... 22nd May 2015 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Surge in trade deficit will soon be reversed This week we expect to learn that, rather than edging up by 0.2% annualised as the first estimate indicated, first-quarter GDP contracted by 0.7%. The principal reason for the revision is that net... 22nd May 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Stronger German recovery depends on export revival Last week’s data gave mixed signals about Germany. On the one hand, the second GDP release showed that Q1’s slowdown belied a strong domestic economy and May’s Ifo survey pointed to a pick-up in... 22nd May 2015 · 1 min read
DM Valuations Monitor Will the yen remain undervalued? On several metrics, the yen appears to be the most undervalued major developed market currency: on a purchasing power parity basis and when its real effective exchange rate (REER) is compared to both... 22nd May 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Chinese tourists to the rescue? A surge in spending by Chinese tourists across Emerging Asia is helping to compensate for a fall in the region’s goods exports to China. Spending by Chinese tourists should continue to grow at a rapid... 22nd May 2015 · 1 min read
