Emerging Europe Economics Update Slovakia: Fiscal policy needs to tighten The ECB’s loose monetary stance isn’t compatible with Slovakia’s advanced stage of the business cycle and it looks like the government will respond by tightening fiscal policy to prevent the economy... 26th September 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Is the Turkish central bank shifting back to orthodoxy? Last week’s aggressive interest rate hike in Turkey has reduced the risk of a more acute balance of payments crisis and helped to restore some of the central bank’s (CBRT) damaged credibility. But the... 19th September 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungary’s MPC bringing loose policy to an end The National Bank of Hungary’s revamp of its monetary policy framework announced today was characteristically complex. But the key point is that the Bank is paving the way for policy tightening and we... 18th September 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Sanctions push Russian central bank to tighten The tone of the Russian central bank’s press conference suggests that today’s interest rate hike was a pre-emptive move against an expected tightening of US sanctions, not the start of a cycle. As... 14th September 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkish central bank steps up to the plate The aggressive interest rate hike delivered by Turkey’s central bank has soothed the markets, but the next thing to watch will be the reaction of President Erdogan. Any sign that he will try to... 13th September 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Why is Polish inflation weaker than elsewhere in CEE? Polish inflation is lower, and has been slower to rise, than elsewhere in Central & Eastern Europe (CEE), which seems to be a result of having more slack in its labour market and faster productivity... 13th September 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey: what will the CBRT deliver? Turkey’s central bank has all but confirmed that it will raise interest rates at next week’s MPC meeting and an increase of 350-400bp seems to be the bare minimum that will be needed to soothe... 6th September 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update What next for the Turkish lira? The fresh sharp falls in the Turkish lira this week reflect growing concerns about the state of domestic policymaking and the health of the banking sector. Monetary tightening or an improvement in... 30th August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia already slipping on fiscal reforms Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement yesterday that the government will soften a planned rise in the retirement age wasn’t altogether surprising, but it marks part of a broader slippage on... 30th August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey entering a steep recession The latest Turkish activity data suggest that the plunge in the lira since May, and the associated sharp tightening of financial conditions, has tipped the economy into recession. Things are only... 29th August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey’s debt repayment crunch Turkey’s economy has so far managed to come through the worst of the plunge in the lira without suffering acute financial stress. That said, the banking sector faces a large external debt repayment... 20th August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Where do the risks in Turkey’s banking sector lie? Turkish policymakers have taken steps to support local banks today, but concerns have continued to mount about the health of the sector. Banks appear to hedge all their on-balance sheet FX mismatches... 13th August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Where to watch for signs of stress in Turkey’s banks? The collapse in the lira has raised concerns about the health of Turkey’s banking sector. Banks’ dollar bonds yields and interbank interest rates are already pointing towards some stress, and these... 10th August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update CEE slowdown continues GDP data out next week will probably show that GDP growth in Central and Eastern Europe slowed for a third straight quarter in Q2. We think that the slowdown will continue over the rest of 2018 and... 9th August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Sanctions and the importance of balance sheets The fact that the US sanctions (or the threat of) are having a bigger impact on financial markets in Turkey than Russia reflects the latter’s much stronger balance sheets as well as the credibility of... 9th August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update How can Turkey get out of its crisis? The lesson from other countries that have suffered from currency crises is that fiscal and monetary policy will need to tighten, preferably under the auspices of an IMF deal, to stabilise the economy... 8th August 2018 · 1 min read
