Emerging Europe Economics Update Industry stagnates February’s PMI data suggest that the slump in Czech and Hungarian manufacturing seen towards the end of last year has bottomed out. But while output is no longer falling, manufacturing in both... 1st March 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Poland still the region’s outperformer Polish Q4 GDP data confirmed that the economy survived the slump in euro-zone demand at the end of last year relatively unscathed – unlike the rest of Central Europe. Nonetheless, with less scope for... 1st March 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungarian rates on hold as NBH stays in “wait and see” mode The decision by the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) today to keep interest rates on hold at 7% was widely expected, with a narrow majority of policymakers now seemingly willing to wait and see whether... 28th February 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russian markets shrug off political risk – but can it last? With just over a week to go to Russia’s presidential election, the markets seem to have shrugged off the possibility of a fresh wave of civil unrest following the poll. Equities are up 20% since the... 24th February 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Counting the fiscal costs of Putin's pledges We estimate that, if fully implemented, the various pledges made by PM Putin over the past couple of months would cause government spending to rise by Rb4.8trn by 2018 (equivalent to 4-5% of GDP)... 21st February 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkish interest rates: little room for manoeuvre The Turkish central bank’s (CBRT’s) decision today to lower the upper bound of its interest rate “corridor” suggests that it is increasingly confident of achieving a gradual adjustment in the current... 21st February 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungary concedes ground to the EC, but barriers still lie ahead Hungary’s government left it late to reply to the EC’s decision to start infringement proceedings. But the fact that it has done so, coupled with conciliatory comments from PM Orban, has raised hopes... 17th February 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Underlying inflation remains weak January’s inflation data in Emerging Europe has been a particularly mixed bunch, reflecting the impact of various indirect tax changes as well as the tail end of the commodity price shock a year ago... 16th February 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungary bank plan unlikely to trigger revival in bank lending The “collateralised credit facility” unveiled by the National Bank of Hungary today may help to ease the maturity mismatch between banks’ assets and liabilities but it will do nothing to address the... 15th February 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Euro-zone bank deleveraging still a threat to growth Fears that euro-zone banks might suddenly withdraw their funding to subsidiaries in Emerging Europe have eased markedly over the past month, due in large part to the success of the ECB’s long-term... 15th February 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Growth still set to disappoint in 2012 The raft of fourth quarter GDP data released this morning contained something for everyone: while Hungary defied the odds and grew in the final quarter of the year, the Czech economy contracted... 15th February 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update A Turkish soft landing still looks like a tall order Signs that Turkey’s current account deficit is narrowing, coupled with a marked improvement in global financing conditions, have raised hopes that it may be able to put its balance of payments on a... 13th February 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Czech Republic likely to be the first in recession A raft of Q4 GDP data for Emerging Europe, due next week, is likely to show that growth slowed sharply across the region. It appears that the Czech economy ended 2011 in recession and the Hungarian... 10th February 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Ukraine: too soon to sound the all clear The improvement in global risk appetite over the past couple of months has raised hopes that Ukraine will be able to muddle through 2012 in order to meet its significant external financing needs... 7th February 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Political uncertainty threatens Romania's splendid isolation It goes without saying that today’s resignation of the Romanian Prime Minister, Emil Boc, in response to growing public discontent with austerity, is likely to weigh heavily on the country’s financial... 6th February 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkish boom hits the buffers December’s trade data provide the clearest evidence yet that the boom in Turkish domestic demand seen over the past couple of years has come to an abrupt halt. 3rd February 2012 · 1 min read
