Africa Chart Pack South Africa battered by self-induced crisis A recent series of unexpected cabinet reshuffles – in which South Africa had three finance ministers in four days – has dented the political and economic credibility of President Jacob Zuma. The rand... 14th December 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Weak German exports dent hopes for 2016 Contrary to hopes that a weaker euro and accommodative monetary policy would be particularly beneficial to Germany’s supposedly super-competitive export sector, the latest data have brought signs that... 11th December 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia Labour Market (Nov.) November’s labour market data are either a major mirage or a minor miracle. We think that the truth lies somewhere in between, with conditions improving but not quite as much as the figures suggest. 10th December 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Are wages rising at a record pace? Despite suggestions that wages are now increasing at a record rate, wages have in fact barely increased at all this year. Looking ahead, we suspect that the upcoming spring wage negotiations will... 10th December 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Declining EU investment funds in 2016 not a disaster for CEE One factor that has supported growth in Central and Eastern Europe this year is a rise in EU structural funding, but this looks set to ease in 2016. As we explain in this Watch, while this will reduce... 9th December 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia Consumer Confidence (Dec.) Despite the modest fall back in the Westpac measure of consumer confidence in December, from 101.7 in November to 100.8, we don’t expect this to be the beginning of a downward trend as the buoyant... 9th December 2015 · 1 min read
US Economic Outlook Higher inflation is coming Although we expect GDP growth to be a moderate 2.5% next year, the big surprise will be how quickly inflation rebounds. With domestic price pressures mounting and this year’s deflationary shocks from... 8th December 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Economy exhibiting symptoms of recession The rebound in third-quarter real GDP has prompted some commentators to conclude that Canada’s recession is officially over. But the real GDI measure, which incorporates important terms of trade... 4th December 2015 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Interest rate hikes tied to pace of inflation rebound Last week Chair Janet Yellen all but confirmed that the Fed will begin to raise interest rates from near-zero at the upcoming FOMC meeting, which ends on 16 th December. Any final doubts should have... 4th December 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Labour Force Survey (Nov.) & Int. Trade (Oct.) The loss of 35,700 jobs in November and the uptick in the unemployment rate to 7.1%, from 7.0%, was party related to the completion of the recent Federal election. The significant loss in private... 4th December 2015 · 1 min read
US Data Response Employment Report (Nov.) & Int. Trade (Oct.) The 211,000 gain in November's non-farm payrolls, along with the 35,000 upward revision to the gains in the preceding two months, would appear to seal an interest rate hike at the Fed's upcoming FOMC... 4th December 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Labour Cash Earnings (Oct.) The pick-up in wage growth in October reflects a surge in bonus payments rather than an acceleration in base pay. The big picture remains that labour cash earnings are not rising fast enough to create... 4th December 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Tentative signs of Q4 growth pick-up After the further slowdown in euro-zone GDP growth in the third quarter, more timely survey indicators such as the composite PMI have offered tentative evidence of a renewed acceleration in Q4... 2nd December 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economic Outlook Russia to surface from recession, but recovery weak Having contracted in 2015, we expect the economy of Emerging Europe to return to growth in 2016. This will be driven in large part by an improvement in conditions in the region’s largest economy... 1st December 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Unemployment (Oct.) & Final Mfg PMI (Nov.) October’s euro-zone unemployment data confirmed that the region’s steady labour market recovery has continued. But the bigger picture is that unemployment remains too high to boost wage growth and... 1st December 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Economic rebound may already be fading The evidence suggests that the economy stumbled at the end of the third quarter, casting doubt about its capacity to survive the worsening oil price collapse. With non-exports misfiring and business... 27th November 2015 · 1 min read
