2023 recession increasingly likely Our composite tracking models suggest that the economy is increasingly likely to fall into recession in 2023, although the risks of a downturn beginning before the end of this year still appear relatively low. Our …
2nd November 2022
Although the aggregate EM manufacturing PMI rose in October, a closer look at the surveys shows that there was a widespread deterioration in EM industry. Highly-open manufacturing economies including Taiwan, Czechia and Poland are struggling in …
The latest manufacturing PMIs are consistent with a significant downturn in global industry. As higher interest rates take a further toll on demand, shortages should continue to alleviate, helping to ease price pressures. However, as the PMIs suggest, …
German prime office rental growth is expected to slow sharply next year as the economy experiences the deepest recession in the euro-zone. Even so, we don’t expect rental growth to underperform as the low level of vacancy means the German markets are in a …
The job openings and quit rates were little changed in September (see Chart 1), but the downward trends over the past six months point to an easing of labour market conditions which will weigh more heavily on wage growth next year. While the initial turn …
1st November 2022
Colombia’s current account deficit has, somewhat surprisingly, widened this year despite the boost to the country’s terms of trade from high oil prices, and now stands at an alarming level. And the funding of the deficit has shifted towards more volatile …
Ahead of the start of COP27 in Egypt on Sunday, this Update explains why one should take the rhetoric of such events with a pinch of salt and focus instead on firm political actions and economic drivers. “COP” stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’ and, …
Russia’s decision to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative will exacerbate sky-high prices and tight global supply, and adds to the likelihood that prices hover around historical highs for the next few months. To recap, the Kremlin announced at the …
China’s official and Caixin October manufacturing PMIs diverged, but the crux of the matter is that both are painting a picture of weak industrial demand. With the services sector also struggling due to the zero-COVID policy, China’s consumption of both …
The Bank of Japan’s renewed difficulties in defending its 10-year yield target have prompted fresh speculation that it may abandon Yield Curve Control. However, neither concerns about the functioning of the bond market nor worries about a weaker yen …
The Reserve Bank of Australia hiked rates by 25bp today and the upward revision to its inflation forecasts are consistent with our view that rates will peak at an above-consensus 3.85%. However, we still see a good chance that policy will be loosened …
The jump in multifamily housing starts in the first half of 2022 implies a surge in completions over the next couple of years to a multi-decade high. But while rental demand is now moderating, the continued lack of homes for sale means we doubt it will …
31st October 2022
The narrow victory for Lula in the second-round of Brazil’s presidential election yesterday has, so far, thankfully not been contested by Bolsonaro. But there’s still likely to be a negative reaction in financial markets when they open later today. The …
An acceleration of the slowdown in European commercial property investment in Q3 is evidence that economic growth concerns, higher interest rates and tightening credit standards are weighing heavily on activity. We expect investment to decline into 2023 …
28th October 2022
The Bank of Japan revised up its medium-term inflation forecasts while keeping policy unchanged today, but we still think that it won’t snuff out the budding virtuous cycle between incomes and wages . As widely anticipated, the Bank kept its interest rate …
After raising rates by 75bp today, the ECB laid the groundwork for a slower pace of tightening to come. But we still think that the deposit rate will reach 3% next year. And while the Bank will set out some “key principles” for QT in December, we doubt …
27th October 2022
Helsinki office vacancy jumped in Q3 and is likely to trend higher over the next couple of years as occupier demand weakens, completions rise and there are fewer office-to-residential conversions. As such, rental growth will slow, with prospects a bit …
The hawkish language in the statement accompanying the Brazilian central bank’s decision late yesterday, at which it left the Selic rate at 13.75%, reinforces our view that the sharp fall in inflation in the last few months won’t push Copom to cut …
Governor Tiff Macklem shifted his tone notably today, reassuring that the Bank was “trying to balance the risks of over- and under-tightening”, whereas previously the emphasis had stressed that it was better to tighten too much rather than too little. …
26th October 2022
South Africa’s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement published today showed that the government hasn’t (yet) been tempted to spend the windfall from the improvement in the public finances this year. And, by and large, the government expects to stick to its …
Industrial demand is relatively well-placed to weather the upcoming recession. Vacancy is low going into the downturn and the gradual shift to online shopping will continue. It should therefore be the only sector to avoid a fall in rents. However, …
A closer look at core inflation across EMs suggests that underlying price pressures have started to ease. But they remain very strong by historic standards in most countries – and particularly so in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The CEE economies …
Money and lending growth accelerated in September, but the latest Bank Lending Survey revealed that there was a sharp drop in loan demand and that banks have become much more cautious about lending. With the cost of borrowing likely to keep rising, …
We expect European natural gas prices to be high in 2023 as the EU will need to replace Russian gas supply for the entire year. This means demand for LNG imports will be strong, even if gas consumption falls. We forecast that the natural gas price (TTF) …
25th October 2022
Despite stabilising a bit recently, the valuation of UK mid- and large-cap equities in general has fallen recently in both absolute terms and relative to comparable indices elsewhere. While that doesn’t imply that they are bound to outperform in the …
The Treasurer resisted the temptation to spend the tax windfall from high commodity prices in today’s Budget. But with high inflation lifting payments by at least as much as receipts, the government now expects a larger structural deficit. The resulting …
Vietnam’s central bank (SBV) hiked its main policy rate by a further 100bp (to 6.0%) yesterday at an unscheduled meeting as it attempted to support the currency. With the dong likely to remain under downward pressure, further hikes are likely. …
October’s flash PMIs provided further evidence that several of the major advanced economies are heading into recessions. The surveys suggest that activity was already contracting at the start of Q4. And apart from during the initial COVID outbreaks, new …
24th October 2022
Although the energy crisis in Europe has dealt a blow to the EU’s near-term green ambitions, a combination of economic incentives, NextGenEU funding, and geopolitical expediency will cause the bloc to re-double its decarbonisation efforts. However, …
Note: We’ll be discussing key takeaways from our Outlook published last week on Tuesday, 25th October. Register here . Italy’s new government may initially steer clear of major fiscal loosening, but it will have to provide some more support to cushion the …
The outperformance of wage growth for those moving jobs is not a signal that overall wage growth is set to accelerate. The decline in job quits and in the share of firms planning pay rises suggests the recent slowdown evident in most measures of annual …
Xi Jinping has removed the last vestiges of rival factions from the upper echelons of the Party, stacking the Politburo full of loyalists in a clean sweep not seen since the Mao era. With political ties taking increasing precedence over technocratic …
We have downgraded our expectations for Athens prime rental growth over the next two years on the back of a weaker outlook for economic activity. However, with the Greek economy still expected to be relatively resilient, we think all-property rental …
Since independence, India has preferred to stay unaligned geopolitically. But in a fracturing global economy, the security and macroeconomic benefits of leaning towards the US – and away from China – may prove too compelling for India to remain on the …
Whichever way events unfold over the next few days, it seems clear the next Prime Minister (Rishi Sunak or Penny Mordaunt) will have to work hard to restore credibility in the eyes of the markets by revealing measures to fill the hole in the public …
Revenues in the hotel sector have recovered to near pre-pandemic levels after being the hardest hit by COVID-19. Although there are few signs yet of momentum slowing, we expect growth in the sector to stall until the end of 2023 as economic weakness …
21st October 2022
Although the extra risk premia on the UK’s sovereign bonds and currency that emerged in the wake of the UK’s “mini”-budget have partly unwound, this doesn’t necessarily mean Gilts and sterling are set to return to where they were before Liz Truss’s …
20th October 2022
Although relatively low equity valuations sometimes point to a greater chance of outsized returns over longer time horizons, we do not think that this is the case for China’s stock market. After all, we expect Chinese companies to face several long-term …
As the global economy tips into recession, aluminium demand growth will remain weak next year. However, we think supply growth will be even softer, pushing stocks lower and the price higher. The aluminium price has fallen sharply since surging in the wake …
Policymakers in Turkey have doubled down on their new economic model of “lira-isation” by pursuing more extreme de-dollarisation policies in recent months. These appear to be having an impact in terms of stemming lira depreciation. But the central bank …
The deep recession faced by the euro-zone in the coming year will cause a sharp slowdown in prime rental growth, which we now expect to drop to 0% at the all-property level next year. We don’t think any sector will be immune from the rental deceleration, …
Bank Indonesia today raised its main policy rate by 50bp (to 4.75%), and further rate hikes are likely in the near term as the central bank looks to support the currency and clamp down on inflation. A rate hike today was always likely, the only question …
The continued strength in inflation will encourage the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to hike the overnight cash rate by 75bp in November and to 5.0% by mid-2023. And with the financial markets sharply repricing the peak in the cash rate, a further surge …
The UK property market has a long history of either causing or worsening recessions. But that history has taught both banks and regulators a lesson. So while higher debt payments, falling property prices and a slump in construction will play a major …
19th October 2022
The surge in housing starts to a 10-month high in September casts doubt on our view that there is much worse still to come for residential investment, especially as the recent stabilisation of the sales-to-new listing ratio implies that the downward …
18th October 2022
Environmental policy is one channel through which Brazil’s presidential election has global implications. The country is the single largest source of deforestation in the world and, with deforestation often leading to cattle ranching, Brazil plays an …
17th October 2022
The news that Tunisia has reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF over a $1.9bn financing package provides hope that the economy will avoid a messy balance of payments crisis. But there are still hurdles to overcome to seal the deal. And even with …
General Secretary Xi’s Report to the Party Congress signalled a further shift away from market-based reforms in favour of a state-led campaign to increase self-sufficiency and economic security. Investors should also be wary of the growing focus on …
With interest rates now higher, we have made downgrades to our forecast for UK GDP growth. We expect that this will bring a sharper deceleration in rental growth at the all-property level, with falls now likely during 2023, led by the office sector. We …
With the yen approaching 150 against the dollar, we now expect underlying inflation to climb to 2.5% by early-2023 instead of our previous forecast of 2.0%. But as this will happen when the global economy is in recession, we don’t expect the Bank of Japan …
