Commodities Update Strong dollar likely to dent US soybean exports US wheat exports have struggled this year as the rising US dollar reduces competitiveness. We think the same could happen to soybean exports as the South American harvest gets under way. 16th February 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Time is running out for Greece The failure of the Eurogroup last week to agree even on steps for further discussions on Greece does not bode well for the emergence of a full solution at Monday’s meeting. This could prompt nerves... 13th February 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Chart Pack Record-breaking quarter for euro-zone investment Euro-zone commercial property investment volumes reached a record high in the fourth quarter of 2014. Such strong investment flows meant that competition for assets was strong, which in turn led to... 13th February 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Concerns about yen unlikely to prevent more BoJ easing We doubt that concerns about rising import costs caused by a renewed weakening of the yen will prevent the Bank of Japan from announcing more stimulus in April. Instead, we maintain our view that... 13th February 2015 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Don’t expect China, Russia or the US to save Greece Suggestions that China or Russia might come to Greece’s rescue are wishful thinking as it is not in the economic or political interests of either country to do so. Nor is it likely that the US will... 12th February 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update How would Greece leave the euro? With euro-zone leaders struggling to reach a workable solution to Greece’s debt problems, the chances of a Greek exit from the currency union have risen. In 2012, Capital Economics won the Wolfson... 12th February 2015 · 1 min read
EM Markets Chart Pack What’s behind the EMBI Global spread? The “stripped” spread of the JP Morgan EMBI Global Index, which includes the dollar denominated debt of 61 emerging market governments, is still around 430bp despite falling slightly in recent weeks... 12th February 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update IMF package brings Ukraine back from the brink The scale of the package of financing for Ukraine announced this morning should be adequate to cover financing needs for a couple of years and will remove an element of uncertainty surrounding the... 12th February 2015 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Swedish Riksbank follows the negative trend The Swedish Riksbank today became the latest central bank to respond to the threat of persistent deflation by pushing interest rates into negative territory and launching a quantitative easing... 12th February 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Does Greece still need a weaker currency? Greece’s apparent improvement in competitiveness and recent economic recovery might suggest that it no longer requires a weaker currency and so would have little to gain from leaving the euro-zone... 11th February 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Which EMs are most at risk from dollar strength? The US dollar’s recent strong run has raised concerns that EMs with large holdings of dollar-denominated debt will come under pressure. Indeed, India’s central bank governor, Raghuram Rajan, has gone... 11th February 2015 · 1 min read
UK Markets Chart Pack Rate hike could still come sooner than markets think Markets have revised their expectations for interest rates significantly, such that they now expect the first rise in Bank Rate to occur in Q1 next year, some four months earlier than they did at the... 10th February 2015 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Swiss & Danish CPI (Jan. 15) January’s falls in Swiss and Danish CPI inflation into or further into negative territory highlight the need for central banks to do more to prevent their respective currencies appreciating further... 10th February 2015 · 1 min read
China Economics Focus Five key questions about the renminbi After sharp gains against most other currencies over the past year, the renminbi is no longer clearly undervalued. But there is no strong reason to believe – as many now seem to – that the renminbi is... 9th February 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update What to make of the latest currency moves in Central Europe After a year of stability, Central Europe’s currency markets sprung back to life over the past month as the ECB unveiled a QE programme and the Swiss National Bank (SNB) decided to scrap its exchange... 9th February 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Positive sentiment towards agriculturals fades Abundant supplies of many agricultural commodities and concerns about weak demand are likely to be behind the general deterioration in sentiment towards agriculturals in recent weeks. Indeed, there... 6th February 2015 · 1 min read
