Global Economics Focus Financial repression to keep a lid on bond yields Financial repression is not a costless way to deal with public sector debt burdens, but it tends to be more politically palatable than the other options. Indeed, it is already happening and... 16th October 2025 · 25 mins read
Japan Economics Update Lower BoJ profits not a major drag on public finances If we’re right that the Bank of Japan will lift its policy rate to 1.5% by 2027, its net interest income will turn negative over the next couple of years. However, its overall net income should remain... 16th October 2025 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Focus Prabowo’s first year: abandoning the policy guardrails? Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto will mark a year in office on Monday (20th October). After an encouraging start, a series of protests in recent months have pushed his administration in the... 15th October 2025 · 15 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Tunisia between a rock and a hard place A surge in olive oil exports and a rebound in tourist arrivals, alongside Gulf and EU financial support, have helped to stave off a balance of payments crisis in Tunisia. But with the dinar... 13th October 2025 · 4 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Kenya-Angola fiscal worries, Cocoa Price, Uganda GDP Angola joined Kenya this week in tapping the dollar bond market, but both countries continue to face fiscal consolidation challenges, meaning sovereign default concerns will linger. Meanwhile, Côte d... 10th October 2025 · 5 mins read
Europe Economics Update Assessing the impact of Next Generation EU We estimate that the EU’s pandemic recovery scheme, Next Generation EU (NGEU), will have boosted GDP in countries such as Greece and Italy by around 1.5% over its six-year lifetime. It therefore... 10th October 2025 · 4 mins read
UK Economics Weekly Is the Budget already buffeting the economy? The recent poor performance of the housing market and the weakness in consumer and business sentiment probably has more to do with rising inflation, higher mortgage rates and the stuttering jobs... 10th October 2025 · 9 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly France’s worrying deficit, Germany‘s timid reforms Even if it avoids early elections, France looks set to pass a budget which reduces the deficit only fractionally next year and President Macron’s prized pension reforms are now at risk of being partly... 10th October 2025 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Fiscal uncertainty adds to case for BoJ inaction Sanae Takaichi won Saturday’s LDP leadership elections but is struggling to gather enough support in parliament to become PM as long-standing partner Komeito has threatened to abandon the coalition... 10th October 2025 · 4 mins read
UK Economics Update Why are the UK’s borrowing costs higher than France’s? The UK’s high borrowing costs relative to those of France appears to reflect differences in monetary policy and its higher inflation rate, rather than greater fiscal concerns. As inflation in the UK... 9th October 2025 · 6 mins read
Japan Economics Update Rare budget surplus within reach Japan may record a rare budget surplus this year which means that the incoming PM has more fiscal leeway than is generally acknowledged. However, as that improvement won’t be confirmed until late-2026... 9th October 2025 · 3 mins read
UK Economics Chart Pack UK Economics Chart Pack (Oct. 2025) The prospect of around £27bn of tax hikes in the Budget on 26th November poses a downside risk to our forecast for GDP to grow by 1.2% in 2026 and by 1.5% in 2027. But it adds to our views that CPI... 8th October 2025 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus The fallout from France’s ongoing political deadlock The latest political developments in Paris underline that France is heading for some kind of fiscal crisis which in turn means the risk premium on its debt is likely to rise in the coming year or two... 6th October 2025 · 13 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update ANO victory = looser fiscal stance, hawkish CNB The victory for the populist eurosceptic ANO party in the Czech parliamentary election over the weekend will likely result in looser fiscal policy, which will support GDP growth and cement the central... 6th October 2025 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update PMIs: Gulf non-oil sectors end Q3 on a strong footing Gulf non-oil sectors enjoyed a strong end to Q3 but Saudi Arabia’s recent Pre-Budget Statement for 2026 reinforced our view that non-oil growth in the Kingdom will slow over 2026-27. Elsewhere, Egypt... 6th October 2025 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Update France’s PM resignation: what next? The resignation of yet another French prime minister, this time after just 27 days, hammers home how the fractured parliament is making it nearly impossible to pass a budget that reduces the fiscal... 6th October 2025 · 3 mins read