Emerging Europe Economics Update What would EMU break up mean for Emerging Europe? With Portugal seemingly on the cusp of an IMF/EU bailout, we suspect that the euro-zone debt crisis is about to enter a new, more dangerous, phase that ultimately ends in some form of break-up of the... 12th January 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update What does 2011 hold for Russia? With oil prices nearing $100pb, the near-term prospects for the Russian economy are looking up and the immediate challenge for 2011 will be to prevent inflation accelerating. Nonetheless, higher... 10th January 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Is the outlook for Hungarian inflation really so bad? We do not believe that the outlook for Hungarian inflation is as troubling as the National Bank now seems to think. Inflation is still above target and has been rising recent months, but the pick-up... 7th January 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey takes a bold step to stem speculative inflows Tonight’s decision by the Central Bank of Turkey (CBRT) to cut its benchmark interest rate by 50bps to 6.5% is a bold step aimed at slowing speculative capital inflows. Ultimately it may have to be... 16th December 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Monetary policy to get creative in 2011 For much of Emerging Europe growth concerns continue to outweigh inflation worries. Accordingly, monetary policy will remain accommodative in most countries next year. The exception to this is Turkey... 14th December 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update What would WTO accession mean for Russia? Russia’s accession to the WTO is back in the news and, not for the first time in the past decade, it seems that membership talks might now be concluded at some point within the next twelve months. We... 13th December 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkish economy becoming increasingly unbalanced Annual Turkish GDP growth slowed more sharply than expected in Q3, but the economy appears to have fared better in the fourth quarter and is still set to outperform the region over the coming years... 10th December 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update How should Russia tackle its nascent inflation problem? The pick-up in Russian inflation over the past couple of months has been driven primarily by a surge in food prices, which should be temporary in nature. Instead, the bigger risk to the inflation... 9th December 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Industry still going strong November’s PMI surveys suggest that industry across much of Emerging Europe is still in very good shape, thanks in large part to the ongoing strength of German manufacturing. Russia, however, remains... 1st December 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Polish growth picking up, but imbalances set to grow in 2011 The pick-up in Polish GDP growth to 4.2% y/y in Q3 (from 3.5% y/y in Q2) is further evidence that the economic recovery is gathering momentum and is likely to strengthen calls for interest rate hikes... 30th November 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungarian rate hike reflects political, not economic, concerns The outlook for inflation does not offer a particularly convincing justification for this afternoon’s surprise decision to raise Hungarian interest rates. Instead, we think the move is best viewed as... 29th November 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Polish policymakers in 'wait and see' mode The turmoil in the euro-zone’s periphery probably tipped the balance in favour of keeping Polish interest rates unchanged this afternoon and thus delaying a first hike until next month or (more likely... 23rd November 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Taking stock of the region's growth model Emerging Europe’s medium-term growth prospects have been the subject of much discussion this week. Our view is that the ‘quick wins’ from the current growth model have largely been exhausted but that... 19th November 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Disappointing start to Q4 for the Russian economy While there are tentative signs that the agricultural sector is recovering from this summer’s drought, the raft of October activity data released this afternoon suggest that the Russian economy made a... 18th November 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Polish MPC split down the middle The acceleration in headline inflation seen across Emerging Europe in recent months has been driven predominantly by a rise in food prices. This follows droughts in Russia and widespread flooding... 17th November 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia Q3 GDP dragged down by droughts The sharp drop in Russian GDP growth in Q3 stands in stark contrast to the generally strong batch of data released elsewhere in the region earlier this morning and marks Russia out from the rest of... 12th November 2010 · 1 min read