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 Economics Update

Has Japan overcome deflation?

Suggestions from Japan’s government that it has vanquished deflation are premature when wages are barely rising, core inflation is close to zero and inflation expectations are lower than a few years...

6th November 2017 1 min read

Japan Economics Weekly

Is Japan still being hollowed out?

Outward investment from Japan has soared in recent years but this doesn’t seem to have been to the detriment of domestic manufacturing. This isn’t entirely surprising: firms say their main reason for...

3rd November 2017 1 min read

Emerging Europe Data Response

Turkey CPI (Oct.)

The jump in Turkish inflation last month, to 11.9% y/y, was worryingly broad based. There are reasons to think that inflation will begin to fall significantly from December, but in the near-term...

3rd November 2017 1 min read

Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly

Housing and the economy

The stagnation in house prices in Australia in recent months is a big deal as it means housing won’t support the economy by as much as in recent years. The plunge in the number of home sales will...

3rd November 2017 1 min read

India Economics Update

Gujarat election an important bellwether for PM Modi

In India’s decentralised political system, state elections such as the upcoming votes in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat can have a direct bearing on economic policy. Arguably more significant though, a...

3rd November 2017 1 min read

Australia & New Zealand Data Response

Retail Sales (Sep. & Q3)

The fact that real retail were broadly stable in the third quarter even though retailers offered more discounts than usual shows just how unwilling households are to take their wallets out of their...

3rd November 2017 1 min read

Japan Data Response

Consumer Confidence (Oct.)

Households remained upbeat ahead of last month’s Lower House elections which suggests that the recent slowdown in household spending is unlikely to last.

2nd November 2017 1 min read

RBNZ Watch

New Zealand - Jobs mandate to move the goalposts not change the game

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will leave interest rates at 1.75% at the policy meeting on Thursday 9th November and by adopting a more cautious tone in the accompanying Monetary Policy Statement it...

2nd November 2017 1 min read

Australia & New Zealand Data Response

Australia International Trade (Sep.)

The rises in the international trade surplus and the number of building approvals in September are both encouraging signs as they highlight the growing importance of services exports and the recent...

2nd November 2017 1 min read

India Data Response

Manufacturing PMI (Oct.)

India’s manufacturing PMI slipped in October, following the trend across most of Asia. However, we doubt that this marks the start of a sharp downturn. In fact, over the near term at least, prospects...

1st November 2017 1 min read

Asia Data Response

Manufacturing PMIs (Oct.)

The October PMIs for Emerging Asia suggest that the region’s manufacturing sectors lost some momentum at the start of Q4. The headline readings for Korea and Taiwan – the two economies where the PMIs...

1st November 2017 1 min read

China Data Response

Caixin Manufacturing PMI (Oct.)

Today’s unofficial PMI reading suggests that the economy may have held up better in October than yesterday’s official PMI readings initially suggested. But this is unlikely to prevent year-on-year...

1st November 2017 1 min read

RBA Watch

Questioning the case for higher interest rates

We think the financial markets are right to pare back their expectations of how far interest rates will rise next year. Admittedly, we expect that after leaving rates at 1.5% at the meeting on Tuesday...

1st November 2017 1 min read

Japan Economics Update

BoJ unlikely to tighten anytime soon

The Bank of Japan still expects growth to exceed its sustainable rate both this year and next. However, sluggish price pressures forced the Board to slash its inflation forecasts yet again at today’s...

31st October 2017 1 min read

China Data Response

Official PMIs (Oct.)

The latest official PMI readings suggest that growth momentum weakened this month. With fiscal support likely to be reduced now that the Party Congress is over and the environmental crackdown set to...

31st October 2017 1 min read

Japan Data Response

Industrial Production, Labour Market & Household Spending (Sep.)

Today’s activity data confirm that growth slowed last quarter but a rebound in the current quarter is likely. Meanwhile, strong job growth isn’t reducing unemployment for now as the labour force...

31st October 2017 1 min read