Europe Economics Update Would a Syriza defeat kill the anti-austerity movement? Suggestions that a defeat for the Syriza party in this weekend’s Greek election would kill off the eurozone’s anti-austerity movement are over the top. But there is little prospect of Germany and the... 17th September 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Brexit wouldn't spell disaster for UK exports Over the next few weeks, we will be publishing a series of pieces of work looking at the impact that leaving the EU would have on the UK economy, culminating in a presentation at our annual conference... 16th September 2015 · 1 min read
India Economics Update Run-up to Bihar election a bellwether for reform appetite India’s increasingly decentralised system means that state elections such as the upcoming vote in Bihar have a bearing on economic policy. Perhaps more significant, the need to campaign at the local... 16th September 2015 · 1 min read
China Economics Update SOE reform plan falls short China’s latest proposals to shake-up state-owned industry are underwhelming. We expect the economy to continue growing at decent rates over the years ahead, but believe this will happen in spite of... 16th September 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Are concerns about the National Living Wage overdone? Concerns have been mounting about the impact of the introduction of the National Living Wage (NLW) in April next year, with companies such as Next and Whitbread warning that they will have to put up... 15th September 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Election won’t end the Greek crisis Whichever party wins this Sunday’s Greek election is likely to stick broadly to the conditions of the new bailout in the near term. But even an austerity-minded government will struggle to meet future... 15th September 2015 · 1 min read
Africa Data Response South Africa Current Account (Q2) Data released this morning showed that South Africa’s current account deficit narrowed to 3.1% of GDP in Q2. While this is welcome news, a more detailed look at the figures highlight the economy’s... 15th September 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly UK should weather rising US interest rates well Even if the US Fed holds fire this week, US interest rates will be rising soon – and, in our view, quicker than markets expect. Turning points in UK monetary policy are often close to US ones. But... 11th September 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia’s unemployment puzzle With the Russian economy in a deep recession, the fact that the unemployment rate has remained at historic lows is puzzling. As we explain in this Watch, one explanation may be that large firms –... 9th September 2015 · 1 min read
US Fed Watch Odds of a September rate hike are 50-50 The odds of the Fed hiking interest rates at next week’s FOMC meeting, which concludes on Thursday, are close to 50-50. The cumulative improvement in the economy over the past few years means that it... 9th September 2015 · 1 min read
India Economics Update GST deadline unlikely to be met The long-awaited implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India could bring significant benefits to the economy. But a decade after it was first proposed, there are still a number of... 9th September 2015 · 1 min read
UK Data Response BRC Retail Sales Monitor (Aug.) On the face of it, August’s weak BRC Retail Sales Monitor may add to concerns that the economy has lost a bit of steam in the third quarter. However, the underlying picture is not as weak as it looks... 8th September 2015 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly Should we worry about “Corbynomics”? If the polls are anything to go by, left-leaning Jeremy Corbyn will be elected as the next leader of the Labour Party on 12 th of September. This has prompted a heated debate over his economic... 4th September 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Major challenges await Singapore after the election Singapore is holding a general election on 11th September and there is little doubt that the People’s Action Party (PAP) will once again be returned to power. Nevertheless, the PAP will want to... 4th September 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Capital Expenditure (Q2)-2015 The Ministry of Finance’s survey on corporate finances suggests that the economy shrank by even more last quarter than initially estimated. 1st September 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Industrial Production (Jul.) The drop in industrial production in July suggests that economic activity will recover only slowly this quarter. 31st August 2015 · 1 min read