Europe Economics Focus Finland set to lag behind Nordic neighbours Finland’s dismal post-crisis economic performance is at odds with the ongoing recoveries of its Nordic neighbours. Although these countries share many characteristics, Finland’s economic decline has... 25th September 2014 · 1 min read
US Chart Pack Core inflation will bounce back Despite the weaker core inflation readings over the past couple of months, we still expect core inflation to climb gradually, rising above the Fed's 2% target in the first half of next year... 24th September 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack What is behind the recent currency weakness? Sizeable falls in a number of Asian currencies against the US dollar over the past month have rekindled unwelcome memories of last summer’s “Taper Tantrum”. As was the case during last year’s sell-off... 23rd September 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungary to keep rates at record low well into next year The National Bank of Hungary’s post-meeting press release reinforced the message that the MPC sees little pressure to raise interest rates. Indeed, with inflation likely to remain low, and economic... 23rd September 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus Colombia: towards a period of softer growth Colombia’s economy has been a rare bright spot in Latin America so far this year but, while we don’t expect growth to collapse, we do expect it to slow over 2015-16. This in turn is likely to mean... 23rd September 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Next SARB Governor faces an uphill task Speculation is mounting that one of the current Deputy Governors will take over from Gill Marcus as Governor of the South African Reserve Bank. But the bigger picture is that, whoever is appointed... 23rd September 2014 · 1 min read
China Data Response HSBC/Markit Flash Manufacturing PMI (Sep.) Today's PMI reading suggests that conditions in the manufacturing sector have held up better than expected recently on the back of healthy export demand. That said, the economy still faces significant... 23rd September 2014 · 1 min read
China Activity Monitor China's growth slowing to five-year low in Q3 August may not have been as weak as it initially looked but the China Activity Proxy (CAP) suggests that China’s economy has nonetheless slowed this quarter, with continued weakness in real estate and... 22nd September 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Assessing the impact of the Ukraine crisis on the Baltics So far at least, the crisis in Ukraine doesn’t seem to have had much of an impact on overall exports from or capital flows to the Baltic States, despite their relatively large ties to Russia. However... 22nd September 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Nigeria's export sector to continue dragging on growth The weakness of Nigeria’s export sector is down to a variety of factors, including a lack of competitiveness, falling oil prices and the expansion of shale oil extraction in the US. These factors... 22nd September 2014 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack More targeted support for small firms Although liquidity operations by the PBOC have received the most attention this week, further measures to support small firms that were announced by the State Council on Wednesday are arguably more... 18th September 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Less to the narrowing of Egypt’s trade deficit than meets the eye The latest headline trade figures from Egypt suggest that the country’s trade deficit has narrowed sharply over the past year, reducing a key economic vulnerability. However, by taking a closer look... 18th September 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response External trade (Aug.) The trade deficit narrowed in August, and should shrink further in coming months as external demand has improved and oil prices have fallen. 18th September 2014 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Trade negotiations may be blocked for many more years It is twenty years since the last major multilateraltrade agreement was signed and there is no newdeal in sight. What’s more, the regionalTransatlantic and Trans-Pacific trade talks looklikely to drag... 17th September 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Chart Pack EM currencies suffer further loses Emerging market (EM) currencies have had a rough ride recently, adding to what was already shaping up to be a poor year. Our synthetic EM exchange rate index is down by 1.5% against the dollar in the... 16th September 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Is China eating Asia’s lunch? Weak Chinese demand for exports from Emerging Asia in recent months has led some commentators to worry that China’s move up the value chain is having unwelcome knock-on effects for the rest of the... 16th September 2014 · 1 min read
