Latin America Economics Update President Chavez's popularity starts to wane This weekend’s elections provide the strongest evidence yet that Venezuela’s economic woes have begun to dent President Chavez’s popularity. All eyes are now on the 2012 presidential elections and... 27th September 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Wave of data should support recovery hopes The coming week is packed with key data, the bulk of which should be relatively upbeat. The markets will focus on the Tankan, but the monthly business surveys for September should also be reassuring... 27th September 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Ifo Survey (Sep.) September’s small rise in the German Ifo brings hope that the euro-zone’s largest economy is faring very well for now. But with export growth already slowing, we expect the index to follow the PMI... 24th September 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash PMIs (Sep.) September’s plunge in the euro-zone PMI is the strongest sign yet that the eurozone recovery is rapidly losing momentum and that parts of the region may already have fallen back into recession. 23rd September 2010 · 1 min read
China Economics Update The view from the ground - Q3 2010 China’s businesses and banks are increasingly confident about the economic situation, but consumers are downbeat, preferring by a wide margin to save rather than spend. 20th September 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update How reliable is the German ZEW survey? September’s slump in German ZEW investor sentiment was a worrying sign that the recovery is already faltering. Admittedly, it is a less reliable indicator of German GDP than business surveys like the... 15th September 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German ZEW (Sep.), EZ Ind. Prod'n (Jul.) & Labour Costs (Q2) The drop in German ZEW economic sentiment in September and July’s stagnation in euro-zone industrial production confirm that the euro-zone recovery is slowing again after Q2’s strong expansion. 14th September 2010 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Fiscal policy paralysed by bipartisan disagreement The Obama administration has released a flurry of proposals designed to stimulate the flagging economic recovery. However, the chances of any of these proposals being passed by Congress ahead of... 13th September 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkish vote should buoy markets, for now The positive result in yesterday’s referendum on reforms to the Turkish constitution is good news for two reasons. First, it shows that support for the present AKP government is still high and, as... 13th September 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia’s reform agenda back in the spotlight A number of events over the course of this week have thrown Russia’s reform agenda and the 2012 presidential elections back into the spotlight. It’s still far too early to conclude whether Mr. Putin... 10th September 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungary starts to the pay the price for political posturing The past week has brought further evidence that Hungary’s government is starting to pay the price for its bellicose talk. Bond yields are rising and the forint has failed to rally in recent weeks... 9th September 2010 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Argentina: one step forward, two steps back According to a report in this morning’s Financial Times, the Argentine government has performed a sharp u-turn and will now allow the IMF to scrutinise its much-maligned national accounts in an... 9th September 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Machinery Orders, Bank Credit, & EWS Today's batch of data showed that machine orders were strong in July but bank credit figures for August and the current conditions index of last month's Economy Watchers Survey (EWS) were... 8th September 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Pakistan gets some help from the IMF The IMF late last week approved an emergency $0.45bn loan for Pakistan. The funding is small compared to the cost of the reconstruction work but is a vote of confidence in a government whose initial... 6th September 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Is Romania on the brink again? Yesterday’s cabinet reshuffle in Romania does not present any immediate risk to the IMF-led loan programme. But it underlines the tense political situation and the deep divisions in parliament over... 3rd September 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Ifo Survey (Aug.) August’s rise in the German Ifo is good news after falls in some of the other surveys lately. But the slight decline in expectations highlights concerns for the future. 25th August 2010 · 1 min read
