China Economics Focus Can we trust the data? Questions are again being asked about whether we can trust China’s economic data. Our attempts to track the speed of the economy using our China Activity Proxy do not support suggestions of widespread... 29th June 2012 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus A primer on China’s PMIs China’s two manufacturing PMIs are now among the world’s most closely-watched pieces of economic data. In this Focus, we take a close look, highlighting which of the two indices and their components... 31st May 2012 · 1 min read
Global Economics Focus Euro-crisis: how big is the threat of financial contagion for EMs? The economies of Asia and Latin America should be able to weather any financial contagion stemming from Europe’s debt crisis. But the economies of emerging Europe – notably Hungary, Turkey and the... 6th February 2012 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus Is investment-driven growth running out of steam? China’s investment-driven economic model is not showing signs of strain at present but growth is unlikely to be as smooth as most expect over the next few years. We have pencilled in a well-below... 3rd August 2011 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus Can Asia avoid the middle-income trap? Most of emerging Asia should continue to grow rapidly for at least another decade, and much longer if the right policy choices are made. The key exception is China where, despite a bright long-run... 5th July 2011 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus Unravelling the mystery of China’s trade data China’s trade surplus looks much smaller from within the country than it does from abroad. China’s customs data put the goods surplus last year at 3% of GDP. China’s trading partners reported a... 17th June 2011 · 11 mins read
China Economics Focus Is China serious about rebalancing? China’s current account surplus will soon rebound unless the government embraces significant policy reform. The Five-Year Plan signals that there is widespread agreement in principle on the need to... 20th May 2011 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus Is inflation eroding China’s competitive edge? The high level of consumer price inflation in China is a poor guide to how the competitiveness of its exporters is changing. Foodstuffs apart, factory gate prices are today rising only slightly faster... 22nd February 2011 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus The investment implications of China's tightening labour market The ongoing structural shift in China’s workforce will cause economic growth to slow and is likely to result in higher, though still manageable, inflation. Household incomes may finally start rising... 14th December 2010 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus Emerging markets will not rescue the rest of the world Emerging market economies will continue to grow rapidly over the next few years. But with current account surpluses in most of Asia and among oil producers likely to remain high, this will not be of... 8th November 2010 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus What lessons should China learn from Japan's lost decade? Today’s tensions between China and the US have many echoes of those between Japan and the US in the 1980s including, most clearly, over the exchange rate. The lesson for China is not, as some have... 8th November 2010 · 14 mins read
China Economics Focus Is China running out of cheap workers? China no longer has a surplus of underemployed workers in the countryside willing to move elsewhere for rock bottom wages, but it does still have a large and inefficient agricultural workforce. Their... 29th June 2010 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus Is China shifting course? Fears that China is about to slam the brakes on its economy are overdone. Overheating is a far smaller threat than is commonly supposed and policy tightening will be implemented only slowly. 6th May 2010 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus Can exporters cope with a stronger renminbi? Many low-end exporters have wafer-thin margins, but that doesn’t necessarily mean currency appreciation would be a threat to their survival. Talk that narrow margins are a major obstacle to currency... 24th March 2010 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus How will China tighten? We expect China to raise interest rates and announce a series of required reserve ratio (RRR) hikes over the next few months, but this should not be interpreted as aggressive tightening. Indeed, the... 11th March 2010 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus Where next for the renminbi? Recent comments from People’s Bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan make it likely that the renminbi’s dollar peg will remain in place a while longer. When it is loosened, the pace of gains will be slow. 8th March 2010 · 1 min read
