Japan Economics Update Rising wages needed to keep up with higher prices Today’s official release confirmed that labour cash earnings were still subdued in May, but we can already be confident that higher summer bonuses will deliver much better headlines for June and July... 2nd July 2013 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Will consumers drive a recovery after all? Growth in consumer spending has been one of the few bright spots for the economy over the past year. But we doubt a continued consumer recovery will be that strong, at least in the near-term. In any... 2nd July 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash CPI (Jun.) & Unemployment (May) The latest euro-zone inflation and labour market figures brought a slight note of caution after the recent improvement in some of the region’s activity indicators. 1st July 2013 · 1 min read
US Employment Report Preview Softer surveys point to more modest monthly job gains The recent weakening in the survey evidence suggests that jobs growth in June may not have quite matched the 175,000 rise in payroll employment in May. But an increase in payrolls of around 150,000... 27th June 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia: weak May's data to fuel stimulus debate Part of the weakness of May’s activity data in Russia can be explained by working day effects. Nonetheless, the bigger picture is that while there is some (albeit tentative) evidence that the slump in... 20th June 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Labour market less sensitive to falls in S&L govt. investment The sharp drop in State and Local (S&L) government investment has had a smaller adverse impact on the unemployment rate than might have been expected. The ongoing fiscal consolidation may therefore... 17th June 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Higher unit labour costs are a false alarm The rise in the annual growth rate of unit labour costs has more to do with declining labour productivity, rather than any acceleration in the growth rate of labour compensation. Looking ahead, we... 17th June 2013 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Labour Market Data (Apr./May) The recovery in the wider economy already appears to be filtering through to the labour market, although activity is still looking weaker than a few months ago and real pay continues to fall sharply. 12th June 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Labour Force Survey (May) The spectacular 95,000 increase in employment in May is almost the strongest on record and obviously makes up for the unusually soft figures over the previous several months. But the recent volatile... 7th June 2013 · 1 min read
US Data Response Employment Report (May) By revealing a decent rise in payroll employment but a small rise in the unemployment rate, May’s Employment Report had something for everyone. Our reading is that it leaves the Fed on track to taper... 7th June 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Youth unemployment likely to have risen further Two and a half years on from the Arab Spring uprisings, youth unemployment in the Middle East, which was a key trigger for the unrest, remains high. In fact, we suspect it may have risen over the past... 6th June 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Latvia is still no role model for the euro-zone periphery Today’s convergence report by the EC, which gave the green light to Latvia to join the euro-zone in 2014, is likely to lead to further suggestions that Latvia serves as a role model of “internal... 5th June 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash CPI (May 13) & Unemployment (Apr. 13) April’s rise in unemployment and the fact inflation remained well below target in May will add to the pressure on the ECB to provide more policy support. 31st May 2013 · 1 min read
US Employment Report Preview Labour market conditions improving slightly Our econometric model suggests that non-farm payroll employment increased by a solid 175,000, in May, although we suspect the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.5%. 30th May 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Wages and salaries less supportive to consumption growth Political unrest, a fragile banking sector and a weak fiscal position are all likely to weigh on Bahrain’s economy over the next few years. As a result, we expect it to be one of the worst performers... 29th May 2013 · 1 min read
US Economic Outlook Recovery now being held back by fiscal tightening The US recovery has, up to now, remained lacklustre, but there are signs that this extended malaise could finally give way to a period of more vigorous growth. We expect GDP growth to accelerate from... 28th May 2013 · 1 min read
