UK Economics Update Public finances doing well despite dip in growth The recent improvement in the public finance figures begs the question of whether the economy is faring better than the official growth figures suggest. However, it is not strong tax receipts driven... 6th August 2018 · 1 min read
UK Commercial Property Update The implication of lower equilibrium interest rates The MPC has estimated that the long-term equilibrium interest rate for the UK economy lies between 2% and 3%. Such estimates are uncertain, but they do tend to reinforce the idea that, barring a... 6th August 2018 · 1 min read
Global Economics Chart Pack Strong growth unlikely to last The world economy has rebounded after a sluggish first quarter, with global growth rising to around 4% annualised in Q2. But we doubt that this will last long because it has largely resulted from a... 3rd August 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly PMIs point to decent start to Q3 July’s PMIs for the Nordic and Swiss countries, which were published this week, suggest that these countries continued their strong performance at the start of Q3. Swiss inflation data released... 3rd August 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly No relief for prices Most industrial and energy commodity prices fell again this week as mounting protectionism and China’s subdued PMI data for July raised concerns about the outlook for commodities demand. That said... 3rd August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM tightening cycle to kick on Inflationary pressures now seem to be building in many EMs. As a result, we think that the interest rate hikes seen in a few countries this week and that are likely next week will be followed by... 3rd August 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Odds of a H2 interest rate hike increase Although May’s strong GDP growth partly reflected a rebound from earlier weakness, it was nevertheless encouraging and June’s trade data suggest that the economy ended the second quarter on a high... 3rd August 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly “Strong” GDP growth won’t be sustained While the Fed hailed activity growth as “strong” at its policy meeting this week, we doubt GDP growth will maintain a 4% plus annualised pace in the third quarter. It’s early days, but data released... 3rd August 2018 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Weekly Hawkish Banxico, Colombia’s austere budget Mexico’s central bank struck a hawkish tone in the statement accompanying this week’s monetary policy decision, and the markets are pricing in a good chance of another interest rate hike in the near... 3rd August 2018 · 1 min read
China Economics Weekly Renminbi decline will soften tariff blow The People’s Bank is signalling increasing discomfort with the recent pace of renminbi declines, including with a new restriction on forward currency transactions today. But the depreciation so far in... 3rd August 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response International Merchandise Trade (Jun.) Following June’s jump in exports and decline in imports, net trade appears to have made a decent positive contribution to GDP growth in the second quarter. But with a variety of factors likely to... 3rd August 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Further slowdown in Q2, but surveys bode well Disappointing euro-zone Q2 GDP data published this week have made our forecast of a 2.2% rise in GDP this year look optimistic. But July’s business surveys were more upbeat and suggest that a marked... 3rd August 2018 · 1 min read
US Data Response Employment Report (Jul.) & International Trade (Jun.) Non-farm payrolls increased by a more modest 157,000 in July but, with the gain in the preceding two months revised up by a cumulative 59,000, the labour market still appears to be in good health and... 3rd August 2018 · 1 min read
Metals Outlook More weakness ahead for metals The prices of most metals have plummeted over the past few months, in large part reflecting the appreciation of the US dollar. But negative investor sentiment exacerbated the moves down in prices... 3rd August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Perfect storm brewing in Turkey, BMW comes to Hungary The US’s decision to impose sanctions on Turkey this week, as well as another bad inflation reading, has strengthened the case for further interest rate hikes. And there’s a growing risk of severe... 3rd August 2018 · 1 min read