We expect Japanese equities to do quite well this year, as hype around artificial intelligence proves a more powerful catalyst than the headwind we anticipate from a stronger yen. Despite bouncing back a bit today, Japanese equities have fared poorly …
8th April 2024
Falling full-time employment not a sign of weakness The rise in part-time employment is not a sign of economic weakness, but instead reflects the large inflow of prime-age women into the labour force, who have been the big beneficiaries of the …
Uganda’s strong recent economic recovery is facing domestic and external headwinds, including international condemnation of the government’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill – and the associated impact on financing and trade – and upcoming EU deforestation …
Note: We’ll be covering our views on residential market winners and losers in both the for-sale and rental markets in a Drop-In Tuesday 16th April 1100 EST/1600 BST . Register here for the 20-minute session. Our latest office metro forecasts highlight …
Door for rate cuts closing The decision by the Bank of Israel (BoI) to leave its policy rate unchanged at 4.50% (rather than cut) for the second meeting in a row underscores policymakers’ concerns about the large budget deficit, above-target inflation and …
The Bernanke review of the Bank of England’s forecasting and communications will probably recommend the Bank illustrates the risks around its forecasts using alternative scenarios rather than fan charts and places greater emphasis on supply and monetary …
Downside inflation surprise keeps 75bp cut on the table The larger-than-expected fall in Chile’s inflation to 3.7% y/y in March has increased the chances of the central bank delivering another 75bp cut at its next meeting in May, although we still think …
The latest data are consistent with our view that the euro-zone will remain close to recession in the near term. With the labour market softening and inflation continuing to fall, the ECB is very likely to start cutting rates in June. Elsewhere, the SNB …
Oman and Bahrain both recorded sharp increases in their government debt-to-GDP ratios in the second half of the last decade, but while Oman’s public finances have improved dramatically since then, Bahrain’s have not. In Bahrain, significant tightening …
Three developments over the past fortnight have rekindled concerns about rising levels of government debt and the sustainability of public finances across advanced economies. First, France reported a larger-than-expected budget deficit of 5.5% of GDP for …
Inflation eases even after currency plunge Egypt’s headline inflation rate slowed to 33.3% y/y in March despite the near 40% fall in the pound’s official exchange rate last month. That said, the effects of the currency fall will continue to feed through …
Forecast change after hawkish BSP meeting The central bank in the Philippines (BSP) today left its main policy rate unchanged (at 6.50%), but sounded more hawkish than we had expected on inflation. Accordingly, we are pushing back the timing of when we …
Some signs of life from German industry, but outlook still poor The second consecutive large monthly rise in German industrial production in February confirms the sector has started the year on a better note. But we still expect it to struggle over the …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Virtuous cycle will continue to gain momentum in Q2 Regular wage growth spiked in February, which suggests that the virtuous cycle between prices and wages is in full swing. And …
Economy running hot in Q4, momentum continues into 2024 The 4.9% y/y rise in Russian GDP in Q4 was slightly below expectations but it followed an upwards revision to growth in Q3 (to 5.7%) and suggests that the economy continued to run hot at the end of …
5th April 2024
Another robust US non-farm payrolls report has seen the dollar rebound a bit, unwinding some of its losses earlier in the week and putting the DXY index on track to end the week near its highest level on the year. With FOMC members continuing to signal …
The prices of oil and gold increased sharply this week . The price of Brent rose to over $90 per barrel on fears that Iran could start to play a greater role in the Israel-Hamas conflict. And earlier in the week, OPEC+ reaffirmed its output restraint in …
The insolvency data released this week show the toll that high interest rates are putting on consumers and businesses. That is unlikely to be enough to persuade the Bank of Canada to cut interest rates next week but, with the cracks in the labour market …
Continued strength in the US labour market may keep US Treasury yields elevated and the greenback strong in the short term, but we think the upside for both is limited from here. And the backdrop for US equities looks favourable to us, even if the Fed …
Supercore inflation fundamentals still improving Inflation fundamentals improving This week brought more good news on the outlook for so-called supercore inflation. Core services (ex-housing) prices, aka supercore, are the most labour-sensitive component …
Banxico: hawks still rule the roost The hawkish tone of the minutes to Banxico’s March meeting, at which it kicked off its easing cycle with a 25bp cut, adds weight to our view that the easing cycle will be very gradual. We already knew that one member …
SA’s weak demand is holding back its recovery South Africa’s March PMI numbers were disappointing and support our view that, while the drags from loadshedding and austerity are easing, the recovery this year will be subdued. The ABSA/BER manufacturing …
RBI policy pivot creeping closer The RBI kept the repo rate on hold at 6.50% today as expected but the more interesting aspect was the slight dialling down of its hawkish rhetoric. With inflation grinding down towards the central bank's 4% target, we …
The further slump in housing starts in Q4 was a surprise, but timelier data and leading indicators suggest activity has since begun to recover. We are therefore happy with our forecast of a gradual recovery in new home supply over the next two years. (See …
Cracks growing in the labour market The jump in the unemployment rate in March, together with evidence of easing wage pressures, raises the chance of the Bank of Canada surprising markets with a rate cut next week, although our base case remains that the …
Blockbuster report another reason for the Fed to take its time The blockbuster 303,000 increase in non-farm payrolls in March supports the Fed’s position that the resilience of the economy means it can take its time with rate cuts, which might now not …
BoT tightened in 2023 policy despite weak data The Bank of Thailand surprised most economists and financial markets last year when it continued to tighten monetary policy even as inflation dropped well below target (see Chart 1) and growth slowed. Chart …
While we learnt this week that inflation in the euro-zone fell a bit more than expected in March, to 2.4%, some commentators pointed out that the monthly increase was quite high, at 0.8%, and was even higher than in February (0.6%). However, most of the …
Identifying pockets of risk amid the optimism The positive news on India shows no signs of abating. The final composite PMI reading for March released this week rose to a 90-month(!) high. (See Chart 1.) That was underpinned by strength in both the …
Fiscal risks building in parts of CEE The larger-than-expected 2023 budget deficit figures released across parts of Central Europe this week underline our concerns about the fiscal challenges facing the region, particularly in Hungary. The better news …
Whether you’re a monetarist or not, it’s hard to ignore the big rise in the annual growth rate of M4 money coming out of the pandemic being a harbinger of the surge in CPI inflation. Shortly before CPI inflation surged from 0.3% in November 2020 to a …
PBOC eases auto loan policy to stimulate demand On Wednesday, the PBOC scrapped the regulatory minimum down payment for car loans on all passenger vehicles, giving banks the freedom to offer higher loan-to-value ratios. This latest attempt by the central …
US steelmakers are preparing for robust growth in steel demand over the next few years, however we think those expectations will fall flat. Steel demand from property construction is likely to fall further and we expect softer demand for consumer durables …
Construction PMIs edge closer to expansionary territory The headline CIPS construction PMI rose to 50.2 in February, the first time it has risen above the no change level since August last year. The rise was driven by small improvements across the …
The RBI kept the repo rate on hold at 6.50% today as expected but the more interesting aspect was the slight dialling down of its hawkish rhetoric. With inflation grinding down towards the central bank's 4% target, we remain comfortable with our view that …
Rebound in mortgage rates causes prices to stall The first decline in the Halifax House price Index in six months confirmed that the slight rise in mortgage rates since the start of the year has caused house prices to stall. The 1.0% m/m fall in the …
No rush to cut rates The minutes of the RBA’s March meeting, published earlier this week, revealed that the Bank has now abandoned its tightening bias. Indeed, for the first time since May 2022, the Board didn’t discuss the option of raising rates higher. …
Tankan points to persistent strength in inflation Bank of Japan Governor Ueda today provided the strongest hint yet that the Bank is keen to hike interest rates further in the second half of the year. He noted that the probability of attaining a …
Note: We’ll be covering our views on residential market winners and losers in both the for-sale and rental markets in a Drop-In Tuesday 16th April 1100 EDT/1600 BST . Register here for the 20-minute session. We expect a surge in completions and a …
4th April 2024
We expect equities to outperform most other assets as a bubble fuelled by AI-enthusiasm continues to inflate, supported by a backdrop of resilient economic growth and monetary easing cycles. In particular, we expect US equities to continue to lead the …
While a rising tide of optimism has lifted most boats in the US stock market so far this year , real estate is the notable exception . (See Chart 1.) That may change if, as we anticipate, the 10-year Treasury yield drops back a bit further from a roughly …
El Ni ño is causing severe drought across much of southern Africa, which is likely to weigh on GDP, push up inflation and strain balance sheets. South Africa has also suffered water shortages, albeit more as a result of creaking infrastructure than low …
ECB will signal that policymakers expect to cut interest rates in June. A 25bp cut in June is most likely, but a 50bp move is plausible. Policymakers will keep their options open beyond that. Next week, we expect the ECB to signal clearly that as long …
The US dollar has started the year on the front foot as US growth and inflation again surprised to the upside, prompting the Fed to (again) take a more hawkish stance than other major central banks. In our view, a continued rise in US Treasury yields – …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Extended pause likely until 2025 The National Bank of Poland (NBP) left its policy rate on hold at 5.75% today as it looked through the recent sharp drop in inflation in March. …
The continued surge in the stock market that we forecast is likely to drive household net wealth to a record high as a share of incomes and provide a tailwind to consumption growth. But that shouldn’t stop the Fed from gradually lowering interest rates if …
The CEE industrial market cooled in 2023 as economic activity stagnated. This year will herald an economic recovery but we don’t think it will be stop the rent growth slowdown. Demand is anticipated to rebound only tentatively and supply is still strong, …
Exports and imports both surged A surge in gold exports and the end of earlier weather-related disruptions flattered the figures in February, but the trade data nonetheless point to a strengthening economy and suggest that net trade made a large …
Exports and imports surge in first quarter The strong gains in exports and imports in February imply that net trade will be a negative for first-quarter GDP growth, but that appears to mostly reflect the support to import demand from strong consumer …
