US Data Response Employment Report (Jan.) The 467,000 gain in non-farm payrolls in January is even stronger than it looks, as it came despite the spike in absenteeism driven by the Omicron virus wave and was accompanied by significant upward... 4th February 2022 · 2 mins read
Canada Data Response Labour Force Survey (Jan.) The Omicron outbreak took a larger toll on the labour market than anticipated in January but, as many of the coronavirus restrictions have already been lifted, employment will bounce back this month. 4th February 2022 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA hiking cycle to start as RBNZ’s ends The RBA is coming around to the view that rates will need to be hiked this year. And our forecast that inflation will continue to surprise the Bank in the months ahead is why we think it will start... 4th February 2022 · 4 mins read
US Economics Update What explains the ongoing weakness of labour supply? Retirements still explain around half of the shortfall in labour force participation since the pandemic. While the rest of the decline reflects a broad mix of factors, the longer those workers remain... 2nd February 2022 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Labour Market (Q4 2021) The further decline in the unemployment rate to a record low of 3.2% will keep the RBNZ on its hiking cycle in the months ahead. But we suspect the unemployment rate will rise again before long. 2nd February 2022 · 2 mins read
Europe Data Response EZ Unemployment (Dec.) The euro-zone unemployment rate fell yet again in December, to just 7.0%, capping off a remarkable year for the region’s labour market. Most of the spare capacity that built up during the pandemic now... 1st February 2022 · 2 mins read
China Chart Pack A less subdued Lunar New Year Millions of people traditionally travel across China to spend this evening, the eve of Lunar New Year, with their families. The tradition has been severely disrupted by the pandemic. Last year, amid a... 31st January 2022 · 12 mins read
Emerging Markets Economic Outlook A slower recovery in 2022 Growth across much of the emerging world will be weaker this year than last, with Emerging Europe and China in particular likely to fall short of consensus expectations. The EM monetary tightening... 28th January 2022 · 28 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Stricter listing rules to lift profitability further Profit margins of listed Japanese firms hit a record high at the end of last year despite the headwinds from goods shortages and soaring input costs. That rise has a large structural component... 28th January 2022 · 6 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Chart Pack Inflationary surge prompting monetary tightening New Zealand’s inflation surged to a 30-year high of 5.9% in Q4. And while Australia’s 3.5% was much lower, it is well above the RBA’s 2-3% target band. Trimmed mean inflation is about one percentage... 28th January 2022 · 11 mins read
US Employment Report Preview Omicron to drive temporary drop in payrolls We suspect that the surge in absenteeism linked to the Omicron variant caused non-farm payrolls to fall by 200,000 in January. But with new virus cases now falling sharply, that hit is likely to be... 27th January 2022 · 4 mins read
Emerging Europe Chart Pack Industry shifts into gear amid signs of easing shortages Industry across Emerging Europe turned a corner in Q4 as auto production rebounded strongly. This comes amid signs that supply shortages are starting to ease; our proprietary shortages dashboard... 27th January 2022 · 12 mins read
Asia Chart Pack Rising virus numbers unlikely to derail recovery The Omicron variant is spreading quickly across Asia. Daily virus numbers are now at record levels in Korea, Singapore and the Philippines. However, the economic impact of Omicron is shaping up to be... 27th January 2022 · 15 mins read
India Chart Pack Activity holds up as Omicron peaks The rapid spread of the Omicron variant in India has caused economic activity to weaken so far in 2022. But the damage has been much less severe than during the previous two outbreaks. Perhaps... 27th January 2022 · 9 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economic Outlook Rate hikes showing on all policy radars The re-tightening of restrictions has overshadowed the start of the year in Switzerland and the Nordics, and our GDP growth forecasts for 2022 are about 0.5%-pts lower than the consensus. Nonetheless... 26th January 2022 · 12 mins read
Global Economic Outlook Growth to disappoint, but rates will rise regardless Global growth will be slower this year than last and we expect outturns in major economies including the US and China to be below consensus forecasts. The US economy will be hindered by persistent... 25th January 2022 · 49 mins read
