Julie Nicol

Julie Nicol is the Office Administrator in Singapore, working closely with the London office as well as providing support to the local sales team.

China Economics Update

Services slowdown led by finance, transport and retail

The detailed breakdown of China’s Q1 GDP data released today suggests that although the IT sector has continued to boom, activity in the rest of the service sector has softened recently, offsetting a...

18th April 2018 1 min read

Japan Data Response

External Trade (Mar.)

18th April 2018 1 min read

China Data Response

GDP (Q1) & Activity & Spending (Mar.)

As expected, China’s GDP growth remained uncannily stable last quarter. In practice, growth is almost certainly slower than officials claim and looks to have edged down slightly last quarter. But the...

17th April 2018 1 min read

India Economics Update

Privatisation plans facing turbulence

The government has set an ambitious privatisation target for FY18/19, emboldened by exceeding target last year. But meeting this year’s target is dependent on a smooth sale of a large stake in Air...

17th April 2018 1 min read

India Data Response

Wholesale Prices (Mar.)

Headline wholesale price inflation held steady in March. But with core price pressures still elevated, we remain comfortable with our view that policy rate hikes are likely later this year.

16th April 2018 1 min read

India Economics Update

External deficit in check amid rising trade tensions

India’s trade deficit widened in March, but we think it will still remain comfortable over the coming months despite the recent ramping up of trade-related attacks by the US.

16th April 2018 1 min read

Japan Economics Weekly

Will the US bully Japan into a free trade agreement?

US President Trump has once again sown confusion by indicating that the US may still join the Trans Pacific Partnership. However, he indicated that this would require a renegotiation of the agreement...

13th April 2018 1 min read

China Data Response

Trade (Mar.)

Lunar New Year effects continued to distort China’s headline trade figures last month. But looking through this seasonal volatility, shipments look to have remained healthy, serving as a reminder that...

13th April 2018 1 min read

Asia Economics Update

Further policy tightening in Singapore unlikely

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today moved to increase the slope of its nominal effective exchange rate policy band, a decision that amounts to a tightening of its policy stance. But with...

13th April 2018 1 min read

Asia Economics Update

Korea’s central bank in wait-and-see mode

The Bank of Korea (BoK) unsurprisingly kept its policy rate on hold at 1.50% today, and the dovish tone of the governor’s press conference suggests that the BoK is likely to remain on the sidelines...

12th April 2018 1 min read

Japan Chart Pack

Tight labour market finally boosting pay

Revised data show that regular earnings expanded at the fastest pace in two decades at the start of this year, underlining that the tight labour market is finally generating stronger cost pressures...

11th April 2018 1 min read

China Data Response

Consumer & Producer Prices (Mar.)

Today’s softer-than-expected inflation data are consistent with our view that cooling price pressures will open the door to further monetary easing in the coming quarters.

11th April 2018 1 min read

Japan Data Response

Machinery Orders (Feb.)

The continued rise in machinery orders in February is a positive sign but we still expect business investment to fall in Q1. However, the medium-term outlook for capital spending remains positive.

11th April 2018 1 min read

China Economics Update

Has Xi done enough to placate Trump?

In an attempt to de-escalate trade tensions, Xi has pledged to speed up efforts to reduce trade and investment barriers, boost competition and bolster intellectual property protections. This could...

10th April 2018 1 min read

Japan Economics Update

What would a US-China trade war mean for Japan?

The proposed tariffs on bilateral imports between the US and China would only have a small direct impact on Japan. Nor would Japan benefit much if buyers looked for cheaper alternatives. A further...

10th April 2018 1 min read

Japan Data Response

Economy Watchers Survey (Mar.)

The Economy Watchers Survey didn’t improve much in March and still points to subdued growth in both industrial production and consumer spending.

9th April 2018 1 min read