India Economics Weekly Fiscal loosening through the back door The BJP-led government this week ruled out the possibility of issuing a blanket loan waiver for farmers ahead of next year’s general election. But this is something of a red herring. After all... 27th July 2018 · 1 min read
Latin America Chart Pack Inflation rises across region, policy response to vary The latest figures show that inflation rose across Latin America in June and early July, but the reaction from the region’s central banks is likely to differ. Policymakers in Mexico will focus more on... 26th July 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update What next for Pakistan after the election? Imran Khan looks set to be confirmed as Pakistan’s next prime minister just as the economy teeters on the brink of a full-blown economic crisis. His plans to boost social spending will have to be... 26th July 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Focus Poland will soon enter era of weaker growth Poland’s economy is set to expand at a robust pace over the remainder of 2018, but rising inflation and tighter monetary policy will cause the economy to slow by more than is widely anticipated in... 25th July 2018 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Nigeria: Pre-election inflation fears misplaced Widespread fears that Nigeria’s upcoming election will spur inflation are not supported by the available evidence. We think that price pressures will continue to ease over the rest of this year. 25th July 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey’s public finances: the last pillar to crumble President Erdogan’s growing influence over monetary policy leaves the public finances as the last remaining strong point of Turkey’s economy. But the budget position has deteriorated in recent years... 25th July 2018 · 1 min read
Latin America Economic Outlook Cyclical recovery set to resume The recovery in Latin America stalled in Q2, but we expect regional growth to accelerate over the coming quarters and our GDP forecasts for 2018-19 are generally above consensus. The main exception is... 24th July 2018 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Loosening drive gains momentum The State Council has called for more proactive fiscal policy, including additional tax cuts. This follows further, large liquidity injections by the People’s Bank. While the direct impact of these... 24th July 2018 · 1 min read
India Chart Pack BJP defeats no-confidence vote Prime Minister Modi’s BJP comfortably defeated the vote of no-confidence initiated by opposition parties on Friday. The result isn’t a major surprise given that the BJP holds a majority in the Lok... 23rd July 2018 · 1 min read
China Economics Weekly PBOC FX policy becoming more hands-on again The People’s Bank appears to be leaning against downward market pressure on the renminbi. But the depreciation it has allowed so far will already provide a cushion for China’s exporters as they face... 20th July 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Focus Pakistan: Major challenges await new government Whichever party wins Pakistan’s upcoming general election will take over an economy on the brink of a balance of payments crisis. Growth is likely to slow sharply regardless of who wins Wednesday’s... 20th July 2018 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Public Finances (Jun.) June’s public finances figures showed that government borrowing is still on track to undershoot the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR’s) 2018/19 forecast. As such, it seems likely that the... 20th July 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Korea’s minimum wage policy backfiring The decision earlier this week to raise the hourly minimum wage by a further 11% next year will undermine President Moon Jae-in’s goal to reduce inequality and boost private consumption growth. 20th July 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Regional recovery gathering steam The raft of quarterly GDP data released over the past month confirmed that the MENA region rebounded at the start of this year and more timely figures suggest that the recovery is gathering momentum... 19th July 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Drop in oil prices keeps Bahrain in the spotlight The recent tumble in oil prices has raised the pressure on Bahrain to secure financial support from the rest of the Gulf and for the government to outline its fiscal consolidation plans. We still... 19th July 2018 · 1 min read
China Economics Update A shift in fiscal policy is coming The Ministry of Finance is pushing back against calls to loosen policy. It may have little choice but to oblige, however, if headwinds to growth intensify in the coming quarters as we expect. 19th July 2018 · 1 min read
