Asia Economics Weekly Should Asia fear a collapse in the renminbi? Fears of a sudden devaluation of the Chinese renminbi have cast a shadow over Emerging Asia’s economic prospects since the start of the year. But while Asian exporters would hardly welcome a slump in... 15th January 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Trade (Nov.) The euro-zone goods trade surplus rose in November, suggesting that exports might have added to GDP growth in Q4. Nevertheless, we suspect that net trade will make little contribution to growth this... 15th January 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Sustained franc strength will hit Swiss economy hard The Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) shock decision to abandon its ceiling for the franc reflected its judgement that the policy was just not sustainable. Unless it can reverse the franc’s appreciation... 15th January 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Swedish Consumer Prices (Dec.) The very low rate of inflation in Sweden in December underlines the absence of price pressures and will encourage the Riksbank to follow through on last week’s announcement that it was prepared to... 14th January 2016 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Swedish Consumer Prices (Dec. 15) The very low rate of inflation in Sweden in December underlines the absence of price pressures and will encourage the Riksbank to follow through on last week’s announcement that it was prepared to... 14th January 2016 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt: devaluation and tourism troubles spell slowdown in 2016 The latest Egyptian economic data, on the face of it, show that the economy held up well in 2015, but the underlying picture is actually pretty weak. With the tourism sector in the midst of a fresh... 13th January 2016 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update African currencies: Key calls for 2016 In this Watch we outline our key views on African currencies in 2016. First, we expect that both the Angolan kwanza and Nigerian naira will be devalued. Second, we expect that the rand will weaken... 13th January 2016 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Poland’s populist shift bodes poorly for zloty & MT growth The lurch to a more populist policymaking agenda in Poland hasn’t made much difference to the near-term economic outlook, but it will harm medium-term growth prospects and, more immediately, depress... 13th January 2016 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Is sterling’s shaky start to the year a sign of things to come? A shift in market interest rate expectations, a spate of weak economic data and the looming “Brexit” vote are probably all partly to blame for sterling’s recent weakness. Although the currency looks... 13th January 2016 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Sterling likely to fall further against the dollar, but not the euro After peaking in mid-November, sterling has fallen nearly 5% on a trade-weighted basis, making it the worst performing major currency bar the Canadian dollar over this period. The weakness will be... 12th January 2016 · 1 min read
China Economics Update What is driving capital out of China? The recent flood of capital leaving China has been driven primarily by increased scepticism that the People’s Bank will hold to its pledge to keep the renminbi stable. The fact that the PBOC has ended... 12th January 2016 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Data Response Russia Final CPI (Dec.) The fall in Russian inflation in December to 12.9% y/y provided the first clear sign that the impact of the 2014 ruble crisis has started to unwind. And we think that inflation is likely to decline... 12th January 2016 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Will the rally in the yen run out of steam? The yen has been the strongest of the major currencies since the end of November. Not only has Japan’s currency benefited from the recent turmoil in global financial markets, but it has also been... 11th January 2016 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Economy slow but still stable despite market meltdown China’s equity markets continue to tumble, its currency is under unprecedented pressure and Chinese policymakers’ reputation for competence is looking ever more tarnished. Contrary to many of the... 11th January 2016 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Debunking four myths about EMs Not so long ago we were among the most bearish commentators on emerging markets. But even we find some of the more recent gloomy headlines difficult to square with the evidence on the ground. In this... 8th January 2016 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update How worried should we be about the renminbi? In our view, China is likely to keep its currency broadly stable in trade-weighted terms in the coming months. However, if there were a large, across-the-board devaluation of the renminbi the fallout... 8th January 2016 · 1 min read
