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.

Japan Data Response

GDP (Q3 Revised)

Revised data show that growth was stronger last quarter than initially estimated. However, the economy is running into capacity constraints and firms face increasingly severe staff shortages. The...

8th December 2017 1 min read

Europe Data Response

German Industrial Production (Oct.)

October’s drop in German industrial production largely reflected the timing of holidays – high levels of industrial orders and business confidence point to a renewed acceleration to come.

7th December 2017 1 min read

Japan Economics Focus

Will the Bank of Japan follow the Fed and the ECB?

A long period of sustained economic growth has helped drive unemployment in Japan to its lowest level in nearly a quarter of a century. Nonetheless, inflation and wage growth are both barely positive...

7th December 2017 1 min read

Emerging Europe Data Response

Turkey CPI (Nov.)

The jump in Turkish inflation to a fourteen-year high of 13.0% y/y in November, from 11.9% y/y in October, will undoubtedly alarm policymakers at the central bank. With the government seemingly...

4th December 2017 1 min read

Japan Data Response

Consumer Confidence (Nov.)

Households are the most upbeat since 2013 which suggests that the drop in consumer spending last quarter was just a blip.

4th December 2017 1 min read

Japan Economics Weekly

Are low policy rates contractionary?

Governor Kuroda has recently discussed the idea that extremely low interest rates could undermine bank profits and capital and, ultimately, lending. Evidence for this idea is lacking in Japan, where...

1st December 2017 1 min read

India Data Response

Manufacturing PMI (Nov.)

India’s manufacturing PMI rose significantly in November, following the trend across much of Asia. The reading is now at its highest in over a year, and prospects for local manufacturers look...

1st December 2017 1 min read

China Data Response

Caixin Manufacturing PMI (Nov.)

Today’s Caixin PMI reading paints a less upbeat picture than the official surveys and suggests that economic activity probably cooled slightly last month. We expect further softness ahead, which will...

1st December 2017 1 min read

Asia Data Response

Manufacturing PMIs (Nov.)

The November PMIs for Emerging Asia suggest that the region’s manufacturing sectors rebounded strongly last month. Encouragingly, the headline readings for Taiwan and Korea – the two economies where...

1st December 2017 1 min read

RBI Watch

Government won’t get its wish

Rumours that members of the government are attempting to pressure the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to loosen monetary policy are nothing new, although continued efforts to undermine the central bank’s...

1st December 2017 1 min read

Japan Data Response

Labour Market, Household Spending, Consumer Prices (Oct.) & Capital Spending (Q3)

Today’s household spending data suggest that private consumption remained sluggish this quarter. Meanwhile, there are still few signs that the tight labour market is boosting price pressures.

1st December 2017 1 min read

India Economics Update

More needed to develop corporate bond market

The development of a corporate bond market in India could reduce local firms’ heavy reliance on bank loans to obtain funding and improve the pricing of risk, which would have knock-on benefits for the...

30th November 2017 1 min read

Asia Economics Update

Korea’s policy tightening will proceed gradually

The Bank of Korea (BoK) raised its policy rate for the first time since 2011 today. Looking ahead, the tone of the governor’s accompanying press conference suggests aggressive monetary policy...

30th November 2017 1 min read

China Data Response

Official PMIs (Nov.)

The official PMIs continued to hold up well this month. But they have been a poor guide to recent trends, failing to reflect the deceleration in economic growth shown on our China Activity Proxy...

30th November 2017 1 min read

Japan Data Response

Industrial Production (Oct.)

Even though industrial production disappointed in October, optimistic forecasts for the remainder of Q4 suggest that activity accelerated towards the end of the year.

30th November 2017 1 min read

Australia & New Zealand Economics Update

New Zealand - Effect of easing in LVR restrictions only modest

Today’s announcement by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) that it intends to ease existing loan-to-value (LVR) restrictions from the start of next year should provide a modest boost to housing...

29th November 2017 1 min read