The underperformance of the German office-based jobs sector since 2019 has been stark and the weak outlook for the economy suggests a material reversal is unlikely in the next five years. This will hold back office demand compared to the other main …
22nd January 2025
Hopes that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will deliver a big fiscal package to get the economy out of its recent soft patch in the upcoming Union Budget are likely to be disappointed. Some more accommodative tax and spending measures are on the …
Inflation edges up but SARB to continue with cuts in 2025 The smaller-than-expected rise in South Africa’s headline inflation rate, to 3.0% y/y, in November, combined with the recent recovery in the rand, supports our view that the SARB can continue with …
Rates on hold (again), prolonged hold likely Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) today left its main policy rate unchanged at 3.0%, and hinted that it was in no hurry to change rates anytime soon. The decision comes as no surprise – the outcome was correctly …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Figures not as bad as they appear but challenges remain Against a backdrop of slowing GDP growth and high interest rates, December’s overshoot in borrowing is further …
We suspect that a Coalition government would run slightly tighter fiscal policy than Labor, which in turn may encourage the Reserve Bank of Australia to loosen monetary policy a bit more aggressively than we’re anticipating. But while we expect the …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. With price pressures continuing to abate, the RBNZ should have no qualms about cutting rates by another 50bp at its meeting next month. The 0.5% q/q rise in consumer prices last …
21st January 2025
President Donald Trump for now at least appears to be in favour of the H-1B visa scheme, a key route for Indians to work in the US tech sector, but the scheme is a key source of friction among his supporters. If restrictions around H-1B visas are …
The “America First Trade Policy” White House memorandum makes it clear that tariffs are coming, although we still have little clarity on the timing. There are some signs that a universal tariff could come later than in the second quarter as we have …
Contradictory signals around the Trump administration’s plans for tariffs are an early indication that, at least in some ways, Trump’s second term will probably resemble the first. To recap, yesterday saw a sharp sell-off in the US dollar after reports …
The economy continues to do well with GDP growing strongly, employment growth solid and core inflation pressures easing again. We are concerned, however, that the Trump administration’s policies will weigh on GDP growth over the course of this year. …
Developments over the past year have put France’s public debt on a steeper upward path, with the debt ratio now likely to rise from 113% of GDP last year to around 126% by 2030. We see little chance of a sustained fiscal consolidation in the coming years …
The precarious nature of the outlook for the Federal budget deficit is well appreciated at this stage, but arguably the bigger long-term risk is the mounting current account deficit . With the primary income balance no longer in surplus and the dollar …
Concerning signs despite GST-related fall in headline inflation The small fall in headline inflation to 1.8% in December is not as encouraging as it looks, with the details suggesting that a higher proportion of the GST holiday was captured by the price …
With the RBA striking a more dovish tone in recent weeks, speculation has grown rampant that the Bank could begin its easing cycle as soon as its next meeting in February. We still think there's a compelling case for the Bank to hold its fire until later …
Vietnam could take a number of measures to reduce its huge bilateral trade surplus with the US, notably stepping up its purchases of US farm products and clamping down on transshipments from China. But even if these were successful, they would still leave …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. UK wage growth rebounds further, but there are signs of cooling further ahead While the further rise in regular private sector pay growth in November will cause the Bank of …
We aren’t overly worried about the impact of higher bond yields on Japan’s public finances because rising interest rates are a direct consequence of higher inflation. With the effective interest rate on public debt set to rise only slowly, the net impact …
President Donald Trump returned to the White House today with pen already in hand to sign what is expected to be close to 100 executive orders. That flurry of executive action will set the tone on what we can expect from his administration in a wide range …
20th January 2025
Fresh reports that President Trump will not impose tariffs on Day 1 mean that his inauguration has, quite fittingly, coincided with a volatile day across financial markets. Although we suspect that a fair degree of volatility will persist for a while yet, …
The Bank of Canada’s latest business and consumer surveys support our view that GDP growth will pick-up this quarter and suggest there are some upside risks to our forecast for another 75bp of interest rate cuts this year. That said, given the threat of …
We know that the economy flatlined or suffered a small contraction in Q4. But that would have been much worse if not for what appears to be a rise in government spending, which will play an important role in driving GDP growth throughout 2025 too. With …
Capital outflows from EMs have picked up again over the past few weeks amid a strengthening of the US dollar and broad increases in bond yields, but also country-specific issues – most notable declining optimism about the outlook for India’s economy and …
Saudi Arabia’s government has been the largest EM issuer of hard currency debt over the past few years and this Update considers what will happen to the Kingdom’s public debt burden under different scenarios for oil prices. The overall conclusion is that …
China’s exports of the “New Three” ended last year at a new record high as US firms continued to ramp-up imports of Chinese-made batteries. Meanwhile, the backdrop of heightened tariffs and slowing green transitions in developed countries has resulted in …
Weeks of speculation have been building to the moment at midday DC time today when Donald Trump will, for a second time, place his hand on the Bible and swear to faithfully execute the office of the president. His return to the White House should finally …
Group Chief Economist Neil Shearing calls in from Singapore to The Weekly Briefing from Capital Economics to talk about what’s known and unknown about Donald Trump’s policy agenda just days before he is sworn in again. He discusses the tone set by Trump's …
17th January 2025
Despite further large swings in bond markets this week, moves in currency markets have for the most part remained relatively muted ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration next week. The dollar is broadly flat on the week as a whole, even after a relatively …
Equities in Europe have done well so far this year, but we expect them to trail those in the US over the rest of 2025, as the US imposes universal tariffs and enthusiasm about AI returns. This would also mean “big-tech” sectors returning to the front of …
Dovish SARB on the cards even with weak rand The rand’s recent weakness has raised worries in the market that the SARB’s easing cycle will slow. While the risks to our forecast for the repo rate are certainly tilted to the upside, we still think a …
The federal government is planning to fight US tariffs with tariffs, but reports this week suggest that those would cover a far smaller value of goods than the US is likely to hit. The government has also failed to muster enough support from the …
Peso a Damocles sword over stabilisation process This week’s CPI data marked another victory for Argentinian President Javier Milei. Inflation came in at 2.7% m/m in December, the third consecutive sub-3% reading, prompting the government to announce a …
Real economy still firing on all cylinders The strong December employment figures were followed by news this week of solid gains in control group retail sales, industrial production and housing starts. As a result, we now estimate that fourth-quarter GDP …
The Chancellor was able to breathe a sigh of relief this week after favourable CPI inflation prints for December in both the UK (see here ) and the US (see here ) led to a reversal in last week’s leap in gilt yields. In fact, the 28 basis points (bps) …
Manufacturing output rebounds The strong rise in industrial production in December is consistent with the recent improvement in the survey evidence. However, we do not think this marks the beginning of a sustained recovery in the manufacturing sector. The …
US sanctions on Russian energy cause a stir Oil prices had a strong start to the week following the news of further US sanctions against Russia's oil sector. We outlined our thoughts here but in short, the disruption from these sanctions could take time …
Jump in starts consistent with growing optimism among builders The large rebound in housing starts and continued resilience of building permits in December provides some support to our forecast that starts will remain solid in the first half of the year. …
With commercial property capital values stabilising and credit conditions easing, the stage was set for a decent recovery in investment this year. However, the recent rise in gilt yields has cast a shadow over the outlook and a fall in UK REIT pricing …
Oil prices up, but inflation will still fall We now think that headline inflation will be a touch higher this year than we previously expected, but it will still probably average around 2% and the core rate will keep falling. So this doesn’t change our …
Korea: political crisis weighing on growth The political crisis in Korea is continuing to drag on, with no clear sign of when or how it will come to an end. President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested this week on charges of insurrection following his …
The latest data suggest that resilient consumer spending supported GDP growth in the US towards the end of last year, while activity in other advanced economies remained weak. Industry continues to struggle in DMs, while in China it is benefiting from …
Services inflation in the euro-zone was stuck around 4% last year but we remain convinced that it will decline significantly in 2025. Data released today confirmed that euro-zone headline inflation rose from 2.2% in November to 2.4% in December. The core …
Biden's final export control crackdown In the final days of his administration, Biden has (yet again) ramped up US export controls in a bid to slow China’s development of advanced AI. The new Interim Final Rule on Artificial Intelligence Diffusion …
Israel & Hamas: an end to the war The ceasefire deal agreed between Israel and Hamas this week, if it sticks, would represent a major de-escalation in the region. It’s a multi-phase deal that will involve the exchange of hostages and prisoners, eventually …
