Latin America Economics Update Is Chile’s economy already on the mend? Today’s release of Chilean Q4 GDP data confirms that the economic slowdown in late 2011 was not as marked as many had initially feared. What’s more, the most recent monthly indicators suggest a pick... 19th March 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economic Outlook Bumps in the road The immediate outlook for Latin America has brightened in recent months as fears of a renewed crisis in the developed world have eased. But even so, while the region is likely to outperform most... 15th March 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Capital inflows threaten to destabilise Latin America Large capital inflows to Latin America have resumed in recent months. If we are right in expecting the euro-zone crisis to worsen later this year, then risk appetite is likely to deteriorate and lead... 5th March 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Chart Pack Signs of a return to “two-speed” growth Activity in much of Latin America appears to have picked up over the past couple of months, following the slowdown seen over the second half of last year. But while worries about the overall pace of... 22nd February 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus How exposed are equity markets to investor risk aversion? Whereas all of Latin America’s equity markets would be hit by a renewed bout of investor risk aversion, some appear to be more vulnerable than others. Specifically, Brazilian, Argentine and Mexican... 17th February 2012 · 1 min read
Global Economics Focus How well will growth in emerging economies hold up? Emerging Asia and Latin America should continue to grow relatively fast even if the euro-zone slides into prolonged recession, as long as the US avoids the same fate. The outlook for emerging Europe... 16th February 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update QE3 would be a damp squib for Lat Am markets Hopes are rising that further unconventional monetary easing by Western central banks – be it a third round of quantitative easing (QE) by the Fed, or Long Term Refinancing Operations (LTROs) by the... 16th February 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Rates on hold as Chile’s economy regains some momentum Chile’s central bank (CBC) kept interest rates unchanged at 5.0% last night in response to a small rebound in domestic economic activity and a temporary recovery in global market sentiment. The latest... 15th February 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Making sense of Latin America’s inflation conundrum Recent data have given mixed messages on the outlook for inflation in Latin America. On the one hand, inflation seems to be firmly on a downward path in Brazil and Peru. Yet the drop in Chilean... 14th February 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Chile: central bank may pause before cutting rates again Signs that Chile’s economy regained some momentum heading into 2012 should prompt the central bank (CBC) to keep rates on hold at this month’s meeting. Nevertheless, if the bright start to the year in... 8th February 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Chile’s two-speed economy likely to struggle in 2012 Growing imbalances in the drivers of Chilean growth leave the economy vulnerable to a deterioration of its terms of trade, particularly via falling metals prices, over the year ahead. With this in... 30th January 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Chart Pack A flying start, but can it last? Financial markets in Latin America have made a flying start to 2012 following a recovery in global risk appetite and an improvement in the incoming economic data. Nonetheless, we would caution against... 26th January 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Savings hold the key to dealing with falling commodity prices The recent rebound in commodity prices has eased concerns about growth outlook for Latin America. But the key point remains that the windfall from high prices has been spent, rather than saved... 26th January 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Will China pull the rug from under Latin America? This is the first edition of our new monthly publication Latin America Watch. This will analyse major talking points in the region and preview key data and events. In this issue we look at the impact... 19th January 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Chile cuts interest rates as growth cools The Central Bank of Chile (CBC) trimmed its benchmark interest rate by 25bps to 5.0% last night following recent signs of a slowdown in growth. By contrast, Peru’s strong consumer activity and rising... 13th January 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil meets inflation target by the skin of its teeth Perhaps a little against the odds, the Brazilian Central Bank (BCB) just about met its inflation target last year as headline inflation slowed to 6.5% in December. Although it may be sticky, inflation... 6th January 2012 · 1 min read