Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi Arabia turns to international bond markets to plug shortfall Reports that Saudi Arabia will launch an international bond provides some clarity on how the budget deficit will be financed over the next year – as things stand, we think around 65% will come from... 10th November 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Poland, the PiS and a populist shift Last month’s Polish election heralds a shift towards more populist policymaking under Law and Justice (PiS). In this Watch, we look at which areas are most likely to see a shift in policy and what the... 6th November 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Economic Outlook Economy will struggle to cope with oil shock Although the mild recession in the first half of this year has ended, the drag from falling business investment triggered by the slump in oil prices is far from over and growing imbalances in the... 4th November 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Will Belgium’s tax shift boost growth? Belgium has the highest tax burden on labour in Europe, so measures announced recently aimed at reducing it are a positive step. However, the reforms do not go far enough. Accordingly, over the next... 4th November 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Fiscal Monitor (Oct.) The euro-zone’s peripheral economies appear to have improved their fiscal positions in the year to September. But progress hasn’t been sufficient for most to put their debt ratios on a downward trend... 2nd November 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi downgrade puts poor fiscal position in the spotlight The decision by Standard & Poor’s to downgrade Saudi Arabia’s sovereign credit rating on Friday night is hardly surprising in light of the deterioration in the fiscal position this year and lack of a... 2nd November 2015 · 1 min read
India Economics Update Privatisation target out of reach With more than half of the fiscal year having elapsed, the government’s aim of raising nearly INR700bn in revenues through the privatisation of various state-owned companies looks increasingly... 30th October 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Saudi Arabia begins to tighten its belt The past month has brought the clearest signs yet that a fiscal squeeze in Saudi Arabia is looming. According to leaked memos, the Ministry of Finance has ordered government entities to halt new... 29th October 2015 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Nigeria’s fiscal woes: Looking beyond the deficit Despite the steep fall in oil prices and a very weak economic growth, we expect that Nigeria’s budget deficit will remain relatively contained in 2015 and 2016. As we explain in this Watch, however... 29th October 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Has Brazil succumbed to “fiscal dominance”? The decision by Brazil’s central bank not to raise interest rates last week has sparked a debate over whether Latin America’s largest economy has succumbed to “fiscal dominance” – whereby fiscal... 27th October 2015 · 1 min read
Africa Chart Pack Cote d’Ivoire & Tanzania: Peaceful elections a welcome sign Peaceful elections held earlier this month in Cote d’Ivoire and Tanzania were welcome signs of improving institutions in both countries. While final results haven’t been announced yet, the fact that... 27th October 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia’s budget signals continued fiscal discipline The Malaysian government remains committed to keeping the budget deficit in check, despite the fall in oil prices which has hit fiscal revenues hard. This has left the government with little scope to... 26th October 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Bigger fiscal expansion may eventually be needed Canada’s growth outlook is one of the weakest among G7 members and other advanced economies. Low commodity prices are the main reason for this. With falling business investment weighing the economy... 23rd October 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Exemptions won’t dampen blow from sales tax hike The government intends to mitigate the impact of the sales tax hike scheduled for April 2017 by lowering the tax rate on food and other daily necessities. However, the benefits even for low-income... 23rd October 2015 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Oil producers adjusting to new reality The collapse of oil prices since mid-2014 has exposed the huge variation in the public finances of the world’s major oil exporters. Poorly managed emerging economies such as Russia and Venezuela had... 22nd October 2015 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South Africa’s medium-term budget still looks too hopeful The South African government’s newly-revised macroeconomic forecasts announced in today’s medium-term budget policy statement seem more plausible than those in February’s budget. Even so, the... 21st October 2015 · 1 min read
