Latin America Economics Update Worrying signs from Brazil's current account (again) Today’s current account data from Brazil provide further evidence that growth in Latin America’s largest economy is slowing sharply. 26th October 2011 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Balance of Payments & Economic Accounts (Q2) The Balance of Payments and Economic Accounts releases for the second quarter suggested that the economy is a bit better balanced than previously thought. Nonetheless, we doubt that these improvements... 26th October 2011 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Public Finances (Sep.) On the face of it, September’s public finance figures suggested that the chance that the Government will bring borrowing down in line with its fiscal plans has increased. But we doubt that the figures... 22nd October 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Final CPI (Sep.) & Trade (Aug.) The final euro-zone CPI data for September confirmed that both headline and core inflation rose sharply. But given the recent dramatic deterioration in the growth outlook, we still expect the ECB to... 15th October 2011 · 1 min read
US Data Response International Trade (Aug.) The widening in the bilateral trade deficit with China to a record high in August is only going to make the trade protection bill passed by the Senate this week more popular. With fiscal and monetary... 14th October 2011 · 1 min read
China Data Response Foreign Trade (Sep) Chinese officials have given little sign they are worried that the euro-zone crisis will hurt China’s economy, preferring instead to keep their focus on tackling inflation. Today’s trade figures... 14th October 2011 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Trade (Aug.) September’s unexpectedly sharp rise in headline CPI inflation from 4.5% to 5.2% came as a bit of a nasty surprise. But the key point is that inflation is very close to a peak and should soon start to... 14th October 2011 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Exports struggle with weak global economy & strong yen Japan’s exporters face an uphill struggle for further growth due to the strong yen and slowing global economy, while imports are climbing due to Japan’s energy needs. Nonetheless, net trade is likely... 22nd September 2011 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Import data point to recovery in domestic demand Neither rising wages nor growing fears about the global outlook seem to be causing any difficulties for China’s exporters. Meanwhile, the latest import data are consistent with a strong pick-up in... 13th September 2011 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response International Merchandise Trade (Jul.) July's international trade data provides further evidence that the economy rebounded from the disappointing second-quarter contraction, growing by an estimated 2.5% annualised this quarter. Whether or... 9th September 2011 · 1 min read
US Data Response International Trade (Jul.) The sharp decline in the trade deficit in July is one more reason to believe that annualised third-quarter GDP growth will come in around 2.5%. With global demand clearly weakening, however, the... 9th September 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Greek and Portuguese GDP (Final Q2) & German Trade (Jul.) The Greek and Portuguese GDP figures for Q2 add to evidence that the recessions there will be more drawn out than either Government expects, suggesting that both economies will struggle to meet their... 9th September 2011 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Exports will struggle as global economy stays weak Now that the hard work of restoring shipments to pre-disaster levels is all but complete, Japan’s exporters face an uphill struggle to achieve further growth. Exports had been flat for a year before... 19th August 2011 · 1 min read
China Economics Update How could China help the rest of the world? China has room to stimulate demand in the event of a slump in growth and could also play a role in stabilising global markets. But there is less space for a major stimulus today than in 2008. As then... 17th August 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Japanese imports from Asia have cooled At the time of the earthquake in Japan in March, many governments in the region feared the potential impact on their economies. However, although Taiwan and the Philippines saw demand for their... 17th August 2011 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Tunisia and Morocco are most at risk from the euro-zone crisis It goes without saying that the risks to North Africa’s economies from the deepening crisis in the euro-zone have increased in recent weeks. The EU is the major trading partner and source of tourism... 12th August 2011 · 1 min read
