Latin America Economics Update Higher rates add to headwinds for Brazil’s economy The decision last night by Brazil’s central bank (BCB) to raise interest rates by 50bps to 8.5% was expected, but the accompanying statement suggested that further hikes are likely over the coming... 11th July 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Latin America’s commodity boom – an opportunity missed When all’s said and done, the commodity price boom of the past decade will probably go down as a wasted opportunity for the economies of Latin America. Rather than saving and investing their windfall... 9th July 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Chile's economy slowing, but imbalances still widening Today’s activity data provide further evidence that Chile’s economy is losing speed. Yet while the headline numbers will grab most of the attention, we are more concerned about the relentless widening... 5th July 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Colombian industry still has a competitiveness problem The recent depreciation of the peso does not appear to have fully reversed the loss of competitiveness suffered by Colombian industry during the past decade. As a result, while the worst of the... 4th July 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Little to cheer in June's PMIs There’s not much to cheer in June’s PMI data for Latin America. Brazilian industry appears to be treading water, while the Mexican manufacturing sector is still slowing. Instead, the glimmer of hope... 1st July 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update CEDIN won’t solve Argentina’s balance of payments issues Argentina’s new certificate of deposit (CEDIN) is yet another stopgap measure aimed at alleviating a growing shortage of dollars. Without deeper reforms to economic policy, Argentina’s slow-burning... 1st July 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Latin American markets fall further behind Latin America’s financial markets have borne the brunt of the recent global sell-off since the US Fed signalled its intent to scale back its asset purchases under QE3 and evidence of weaker Chinese... 28th June 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Government spending isn't the solution to Brazil's problems The response of Brazil’s government to recent unrest suggests a willingness to engage with protestors’ concerns, but also reveals a fundamental misdiagnosis of the underlying issues. The problem lies... 26th June 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update What next for Latin American currencies? The sharp falls in Latin American currencies over the past month mean that many are now below our end-year targets, which looked extremely bearish only a few months ago. But while we think the trend... 25th June 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazilian protests underline economy's structural flaws The protests that have spread across Brazil over the past week have so far had a limited impact on financial markets and so – in contrast to Turkey – are unlikely to have immediate implications for... 19th June 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil's fiscal risks revisited The murky world of Brazil’s public finances has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks, after ratings agency S&P downgraded the nation’s sovereign debt outlook. In this Watch we take a fresh... 18th June 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Chile still on track to lower interest rates this year Chile’s central bank (BCC) held its interest rate at 5% last night, in spite of weaker growth and inflation data which had led some analysts (including ourselves) to forecast a cut. Going forward... 14th June 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Uruguay's revamped inflation strategy still looks flawed Changes to Uruguay’s monetary policy regime, including a shift towards monetarism, are unlikely to be a panacea for the country’s inflation problems. Without tighter economic policy and efforts to... 11th June 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Second devaluation would not solve Venezuela's woes Another devaluation of the bolivar would do nothing to solve Venezuela’s shortage of foreign currency. Until or unless the government changes tack and adopts a more market-friendly economic framework... 10th June 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil: time to re-visit our forecasts? Two developments over the past week make this an ideal opportunity to revisit our forecasts for Brazil. On the one hand, weak Q1 GDP data support our long-held view that the economic recovery will... 6th June 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Chile: prospect of rate cuts to keep peso under pressure The Chilean peso recently weakened to over 500/US$ and, with support for rate cuts within the central bank growing, we expect it to fall to around 520/US$ by year-end. Meanwhile, Brazil’s decision to... 5th June 2013 · 1 min read
