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

External trade (Apr.)

The trade surplus fell to a fresh low in April which suggests that net trade should have provided less support to economic activity in the second quarter. But the bigger picture is that external...

22nd May 2017 1 min read

Japan Economics Weekly

Boost from female employment starting to fade

A surge in the share of women in or looking for paid employment has boosted potential growth and kept price pressures subdued in recent years. But with the female labour force participation rate no...

19th May 2017 1 min read

Asia Data Response

Malaysia GDP (Q1)

Figures released today show that Malaysia’s economy gained strong momentum in Q1. Robust global demand, loose monetary policy and a recovery in energy prices should continue to support growth in...

19th May 2017 1 min read

Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly

Better get used to slow wage growth

Wage growth in Australia has only been significantly lower than it is now during the Great Depression and immediately after World War II. While we do expect wage growth to rise from here, it won’t...

19th May 2017 1 min read

Japan Data Response

Machinery Orders (Mar.)

Combined with the drop in capital goods shipments, the decline in machinery orders in Q1 suggests that investment spending weakened last quarter. Nonetheless, we still expect tomorrow’s preliminary...

17th May 2017 1 min read

China Data Response

Activity & Spending (Apr.)

The activity and spending data for April all came in below consensus, continuing the recent trend of disappointing Chinese data. Softer foreign demand and domestic consumption were the immediate...

15th May 2017 1 min read

Asia Data Response

Thailand GDP (Q1)

Figures released today show Thailand’s economy started 2017 on a solid note. We expect growth to pick up a little further in the coming quarters, helped by robust external demand, supportive fiscal...

15th May 2017 1 min read

Asia Economics Update

Interest rates in Malaysia to stay on hold for the rest of the year

Despite the recent spike in inflation, it was no surprise that Malaysia’s central bank (BNM) kept its policy rate unchanged at 3.0% today. Looking ahead, we expect BNM to keep interest rates steady...

12th May 2017 1 min read

Japan Economics Weekly

Government could do more to lift wage growth

The government has raised minimum wages, mainly to the benefit of part-time workers, and improved tax incentives to encourage firms to lift salaries. But much more is needed to boost wage growth to...

12th May 2017 1 min read

Asia Economics Update

Sri Lanka holds rates, pause unlikely to last

The central bank in Sri Lanka (CBSL) today left interest rates on hold, but a combination of rapid credit growth, high inflation and a weak currency suggests further tightening is only a matter of...

9th May 2017 1 min read

Japan Data Response

Labour Cash Earnings (Mar.)

The first fall in labour cash earnings since last May underlines the challenges the Bank of Japan is facing in lifting inflation to 2%. With wages growing no faster than labour productivity, much...

9th May 2017 1 min read

Japan Economics Weekly

Inflation set to rebound, but not enough for BoJ

Underlying price pressures in Japan are not quite as weak as the recent negative reading for core inflation might suggest: it was caused by a slump in mobile phone prices that won’t continue. But...

5th May 2017 1 min read

Asia Data Response

Indonesia GDP (Q1)

Indonesia recorded another quarter of disappointing growth in the first quarter of this year, with GDP expanding by 5.0% y/y. Looking ahead, with commodity prices likely to stay relatively depressed...

5th May 2017 1 min read

India Economics Update

Drop in inflation in April to prove temporary

Consumer price inflation is likely to have eased a touch in April, due in large part to a drop in fuel inflation. But this is likely to prove temporary. Further ahead, rising core price pressures...

5th May 2017 1 min read

Asia Economics Focus

Will Korea’s election put the economy on a new path?

In addition to the growing geopolitical crisis on the Korean Peninsula, South Korea’s next president, who will be elected on 9 th May, will face a mounting number of economic challenges, including...

4th May 2017 1 min read

Asia Data Response

Manufacturing PMIs (Apr.)

The April PMIs for Emerging Asia suggest that the region’s manufacturing recovery remained intact. Focusing on the two economies where the PMIs most closely track the hard data, Taiwan’s manufacturing...

2nd May 2017 1 min read