UK Data Response Public Finances (Oct.) October’s public finance figures suggest that borrowing has not fallen as quickly as the OBR predicted, leaving the Chancellor with less room for manoeuvre in his Autumn Statement on 25th November. 20th November 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Underlying household spending remains strong The underlying picture for household spending remains positive. Real household spending in Q3 looks likely to have grown by around 0.8% q/q, the rate seen in Q1 and Q2. And while retail sales volumes... 19th November 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Has Italy really been the biggest beneficiary of QE? Recent suggestions that Italy has gained the most from QE paint a pretty bleak picture of the policy’s effectiveness. As it happens, we are not convinced that Italy has been the biggest winner. Either... 18th November 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Oct.) Bank lending continues to expand at a robust pace, but the increase in domestic credit is dwarfed by the surge in foreign claims, with their yen-value inflated by the weaker exchange rate. 18th November 2015 · 1 min read
India Economics Focus What next for India’s consumers? India’s consumer market is often the subject of frenzied interest among investors and commentators but, in recent years, growth has been held back by both cyclical and structural headwinds. In this... 18th November 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update The EM debt problem revisited The past few weeks have seen increased awareness of potential debt problems brewing in the emerging world. In general, debt burdens are lower and more manageable in most EMs than in the past. But... 17th November 2015 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack More positives than negatives in October data The latest round of Chinese data was met with plenty of gloomy headlines. We think these were overdone. The cloud over China’s economy may not have lifted but there were more positives than negatives... 17th November 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Italy’s economy likely to continue to disappoint Today’s Italian GDP data were disappointing and we expect the economy to continue to grow at a fairly slow pace. As a result, the government debt-to-GDP ratio is unlikely to fall over the coming years... 13th November 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Just how worried should we be about Spain? Political developments in Spain could not only dampen the country’s previously strong economic recovery but also threaten to re-ignite the euro-zone’s debt crisis. 12th November 2015 · 1 min read
China Data Response Bank Lending & Broad Credit (Oct.) The weaker-than-expected October lending data are likely to add to doubts over the effectiveness of policy support. But overall credit growth is nonetheless continuing to accelerate, which is positive... 12th November 2015 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update Global central banks continue to add gold to their reserves Global central banks increased their gold reserves in September, with China and Russia once again particularly active. We expect further official purchases to continue to be one of several factors... 6th November 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly What to make of the privatisation of the Post Bank? The government took the first step towards the privatisation of the Post Bank by selling a 11% stake on Wednesday. Private ownership will force the Bank to shift its investment portfolio from low... 6th November 2015 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Boom in business lending may be fading The Fed’s latest Senior Loan Officer Survey suggests that growth in business investment in equipment will remain muted over the remainder of this year. 2nd November 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Stress tests offer little hope of Greek lending revival ECB stress tests have offered some comfort about Greek banks’ solvency, but they are not out of the woods. And with a lack of access to cheap funding and depressed deposits seriously restricting banks... 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
UK Economics Weekly Mr Osborne’s tax credit options Mr Osborne has various options to soften the impact of his cuts in tax credits, but all of them will cost him some money. Admittedly, this might “only” be a couple of billion for a couple of years... 30th October 2015 · 1 min read
