Africa Economics Update Ethiopia: Springtime in Addis Ababa? Reforms announced by Ethiopia’s government could upend the country’s political and economic model. This may eventually boost growth, but a delicate period of liberalisation will increase the risk of... 7th June 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Jordan protests unlikely to upend IMF deal Ongoing protests in Jordan have already prompted the resignation of the prime minister and King Abdullah seems to be taking further steps to defuse the situation. The new tax law which triggered the... 6th June 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia: What to make of BNM head’s resignation The resignation of Malaysia’s central bank governor amid accusations of corruption at the Bank is an encouraging sign that the new government’s anti-corruption drive is gathering pace. The new... 6th June 2018 · 1 min read
Global Economics Chart Pack World economy resilient to renewed trade tensions The risk of a global trade war has risen in the past few weeks. President Trump has gone ahead with plans to levy tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, which is likely to provoke retaliation. In... 5th June 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia and the sanctions impact The imposition of more stringent US financial sanctions in April seems to have resulted in a long-lasting premium in Russia’s currency and bond market. But there has been little convincing evidence of... 5th June 2018 · 1 min read
India Economics Update Privatisation plans fail to take off The government’s record privatisation target set for this year is dependent in part on a smooth sale of a large stake in Air India. But with no firms having shown any serious interest in making a bid... 5th June 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Spain can cope without Rajoy but Italian politics still a worry In any other week, the imposition of tariffs on the EU by the US would have taken centre stage. But amid the political and market turmoil in Italy and the downfall of Spain’s government, this was no... 1st June 2018 · 1 min read
Global Central Bank Watch Geopolitics more likely to affect ECB than the Fed For now, we don’t expect the geopolitical developments to alter the behaviour of the major central banks. Provided that the political crisis in Italy does not flare up again, we think the ECB is... 1st June 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Capital Spending (Q1) Today’s capital spending confirmed that investment was sluggish last quarter and suggest that we won’t see major revisions in the second estimate of Q1 GDP. 1st June 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update How could Italy’s problems affect Emerging Europe? Recent developments in Italy do not pose an immediate threat to economies in Emerging Europe but a significant escalation in the crisis would cause problems for countries in the region, particularly... 31st May 2018 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Banks outside the euro-zone not too exposed to Italy The direct exposure to Italy of banks located outside the euro-zone is small compared to that of their peers based in other euro-zone countries. This offers some reassurance that any fallout from... 31st May 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Industrial Production (Apr.) Industrial production didn’t rise as much in April as most had anticipated. But the economy should still have returned to growth this quarter. 31st May 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Will turmoil in Italy spark contagion? The fallout from the latest political turmoil in Italy has so far been contained, with limited impact on other euro-zone countries’ financial markets. There are good reasons to expect this to remain... 30th May 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Markets drop as Trump pulls out of Iran’s nuclear deal The US administration’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, coming alongside the recent EM sell-off, means that it has been a terrible month for financial markets across the Middle East and... 30th May 2018 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Six key questions and answers about Italy We have written extensively about political and economic developments in Italy in our Europe and Markets services. (See a list of relevant publications on page 2.) But as the events of the past few... 29th May 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Key questions about Italy After the President refused to appoint a eurosceptic finance minister, Italy is heading for a fresh election. Provided that Five Star Movement and the League do not call for a referendum on euro... 29th May 2018 · 1 min read