Asia Economics Update New Zealand will remain reluctant to hike rates The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) kept its policy rate at 2.5% today. We continue to expect the cash rate to remain on hold until the end of the year and to be kept low in 2014. 13th June 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Which EMs should be worried about weaker currencies? Most EMs are likely to tolerate the recent sell-off in their currencies. In some places this may even be welcomed. But there are a few exceptions. Inflation concerns mean that currency weakness will... 12th June 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Rupee decline highlights India’s fundamental weaknesses Talk of “policy tapering” by the Federal Reserve has been the catalyst for a broad-based sell-off in emerging market currencies. Within Asia, the worst performer has been the rupee. Its decline... 12th June 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update What is driving the weakness of the South African rand? Around half of the fall in the rand over the past month or so appears to have been due to global factors, while the other half has possibly been due to domestic factors such as labour unrest. With... 11th June 2013 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Emerging market currencies to remain under pressure Emerging market currencies have generally been hit hard over the past month, with sentiment further souring in the wake of the latest US FOMC minutes. We think many will remain under pressure this... 10th June 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Second devaluation would not solve Venezuela's woes Another devaluation of the bolivar would do nothing to solve Venezuela’s shortage of foreign currency. Until or unless the government changes tack and adopts a more market-friendly economic framework... 10th June 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Asian currencies take a tumble A number of Asian currencies have experienced big falls against the US dollar over the past few weeks. This Weekly looks at which currencies have been hit the hardest, the factors behind the recent... 10th June 2013 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update What next for the Nikkei? The markets’ honeymoon with the Abe government has ended, but it seems premature to consider filing for divorce. Indeed, the worst of the correction in the Nikkei may soon be over. 5th June 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Latvia is still no role model for the euro-zone periphery Today’s convergence report by the EC, which gave the green light to Latvia to join the euro-zone in 2014, is likely to lead to further suggestions that Latvia serves as a role model of “internal... 5th June 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Chile: prospect of rate cuts to keep peso under pressure The Chilean peso recently weakened to over 500/US$ and, with support for rate cuts within the central bank growing, we expect it to fall to around 520/US$ by year-end. Meanwhile, Brazil’s decision to... 5th June 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Revisiting Turkey's external risks While Turkish asset prices have regained some of their lost ground today, the outbreak of protests over the past few days has re-focused attention on the country’s economic vulnerabilities. In... 4th June 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Latin American equities underperform The recent weakness of Latin American stock markets has continued unabated in May, with returns well below those of developed and emerging market equity benchmarks. Going forward, we expect stocks to... 30th May 2013 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Swiss GDP (Q1 13) Swiss GDP data for Q1 confirmed that the economy continued to perform well. But the still high level of the franc does appear to be damaging exports and we suspect that growth will slow significantly... 30th May 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Tunisian dinar falls on back of IMF deal The Tunisian dinar has been one of the worst performing EM currencies over the past couple of months. Meanwhile, equity markets in the Gulf have continued to rally. 29th May 2013 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Rand in freefall The South African rand has collapsed in the past month, falling by over 9% against the US$. The magnitude of the fall means that the currency may now be somewhat undervalued, but we expect it to... 29th May 2013 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Renminbi surge undermines case for capital account opening The recent surge in the renminbi may have been an attempt by policymakers to lay the groundwork for a loosening of capital controls. But it has ended up demonstrating why such a move will be difficult... 24th May 2013 · 1 min read
