Middle East & North Africa Economics Focus Egypt devaluation: causes and likely consequences We think that a devaluation of the Egyptian pound is more likely than not, even if the government reaches an agreement with the IMF this month. The pound appears to be overvalued by around 15% to 25%... 5th April 2012 · 1 min read
DM Markets Chart Pack A month of two halves for Treasuries The 10-year US Treasury yield rose by more than 20bp in March. The catalysts for a significant sell-off in the first half of the month were another encouraging employment report, reassuring results... 3rd April 2012 · 1 min read
China Economics Update What difference would a wider RMB trading band make? The next major reform in China’s exchange rate policy is likely to be a widening of the renminbi’s daily trading band with the dollar. In this month’s China Watch, we consider the implications of such... 29th March 2012 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Focus Lessons from the Icelandic crisis Three years after entering a depression, Iceland has staged an impressive turnaround, which, on the face of it, bodes well for the peripheral euro-zone economies that have suffered from similar... 27th March 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus Lessons from the Icelandic crisis Three years after entering a depression, Iceland has staged an impressive turnaround, which, on the face of it, bodes well for the peripheral euro-zone economies that have suffered from similar... 27th March 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update What next for Brazil’s “currency war”? Brazil’s so-called “currency war” has lost a little of its momentum in recent days, as the real – like most EM currencies – has weakened. This provides an ideal opportunity to take stock of the recent... 23rd March 2012 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update SNB’s support won’t rescue the Swiss economy The Swiss National Bank pledged to maintain its extremely supportive policy stance today, keeping interest rates as close to zero as possible and defending a minimum exchange rate of CHF 1.20 per euro... 15th March 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update SNB’s support won’t rescue the Swiss economy The Swiss National Bank pledged to maintain its extremely supportive policy stance today, keeping interest rates as close to zero as possible and defending a minimum exchange rate of CHF 1.20 per euro... 15th March 2012 · 1 min read
China Economics Update What do Wen’s comments mean for property and the renminbi? Today’s comments from Premier Wen Jiabao at the close of the National People’s Congress have sparked interest in the outlook for China’s property and exchange rate policies and in the prospects for... 14th March 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Middle East Markets Monitor (Mar.) The performance of equity markets across the Arab world has diverged since the beginning of the year. Stock markets in Egypt, Dubai and Saudi outperfromed the rest of the region and indeed the MSCI... 13th March 2012 · 1 min read
UK Markets Chart Pack Markets reassess QE outlook UK interest rate expectations have started to edge up and UK equities have underperformed those overseas as investors have reacted to tentative signs in the Bank of England’s Inflation Report and from... 8th March 2012 · 1 min read
DM Markets Chart Pack Weaker yen boosts Japan’s stock market The yen fell to its lowest level against the dollar in more than six months in February, with the exchange rate rising above 80. The principal catalysts for the weakening of the currency were probably... 29th February 2012 · 1 min read
UK Markets Outlook Super low gilt yields here to stay The recent improvement in both the timeliest economic news and sentiment towards the euro-zone has led investors to question whether the exceptionally low levels of gilt yields that were reached at... 27th February 2012 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update A stronger yen likely to undermine Japan’s stock market Japan’s stock market has been on a roll. We do not expect the good times to last. Although we are revising up our end-2012 and end-2013 forecasts for the Nikkei 225 slightly, to 7,750 (versus 7,500... 27th February 2012 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update New forecasts for the yen The yen has fallen to its lowest level against the dollar in more than six months, with the exchange rate now just a whisker below 80. The principal catalysts for the weakening of the currency have... 21st February 2012 · 1 min read
UK Markets Chart Pack More QE greeted with muted market reaction UK markets’ initial reaction to the £50bn of extra QE sanctioned by the MPC suggests that the announcement fell a bit short of investors’ expectations. Indeed, the pound strengthened shortly after the... 9th February 2012 · 1 min read
