Latin America Economics Focus Brazil Election Watch: No evidence of a pre-election giveaway… yet The latest data do not contain much evidence of a pre-election giveaway in Brazil but President Rousseff’s slide in the opinion polls since the start of the year, coupled with a stagnant economy and a... 3rd June 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Manufacturing PMI points to further weakness in Brazil Today’s manufacturing PMI data for May add to the evidence that the Brazilian economy continued to struggle in the second quarter. Meanwhile, although the US ISM manufacturing index unexpectedly fell... 2nd June 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Colombia: Gradual interest rate hikes to continue, for now Colombian policymakers have indicated that they expect interest rates to continue rising gradually over the coming months. As such, we are revising up our forecast. But with growth set to slow and... 2nd June 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Focus From turbulence to tranquillity: are EM markets now too complacent? After a choppy 2013, financial markets have turned optimistic over the outlook for EMs in recent months. In many ways this makes sense. We were always of the view that last year’s concerns that Fed... 2nd June 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Chart Pack GDP growth slowed in Q1, likely to remain sluggish First quarter GDP data released over the past month suggest that the region’s economy slowed further at the start of this year, with growth dipping to just 2.0% y/y in Q1, down from 2.2% y/y in Q4... 2nd June 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazilian growth slows as consumer spending falters The slowdown in Brazilian GDP growth, from 2.2% y/y in Q4 to 1.9% y/y in Q1, is further evidence that Latin America’s largest economy is still struggling for momentum and could increase pressure on... 30th May 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Activity Monitor EM growth steady, but some bright spots Growth in the emerging world as a whole was steady at around 4.5% y/y over the first few months of the year, but there are several bright spots. Growth has picked up in some of the more open... 29th May 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil leaves rates unchanged but further hikes possible in 2015 Brazil’s central bank (BCB) called a halt to its tightening cycle last night and now seems unlikely to make any changes in interest rates until after October’s presidential elections. However, it’s... 29th May 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Colombia election: Zuluaga leads Santos into a run-off A victory for either Oscar Zuluaga or Juan Manuel Santos in the second round of Colombia’s presidential election next month is unlikely to cause a stir in the markets. But with neither candidate... 27th May 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Mexican GDP growth to accelerate despite disappointing Q1 Mexican GDP growth fell short of expectations in the first quarter, but the economy looks set to fare much better over the coming years as the government presses ahead with major investments and the... 23rd May 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Bumpy road ahead for Lat Am markets Currencies, equities and bonds have all fared well so far this month after a turbulent past year. While we expect bouts of financial market volatility as US monetary policy becomes less accommodative... 22nd May 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Argentine peso could weaken to 10/$ by year-end The recent depreciation of the Argentine peso may be small, but it could be significant in marking thestart of another prolonged decline. With rampant inflation eroding the economy’s... 21st May 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Impact of currency weakness on inflation has been muted The sharp fall in many emerging market (EM) currencies over the past year has not led to the big EM-wide inflation shock that some were predicting. Looking ahead, we expect inflation across the... 21st May 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update The “Taper Tantrum” one year on A year on from the start of the so-called “taper tantrum”, in which concerns about the withdrawal of monetary stimulus by the Fed sent shock waves through EM financial markets, the vulnerabilities... 19th May 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Chile GDP: stronger than expected but still weak Chile’s economy performed better than expected in the first quarter of this year, but the bigger picture is that growth has slowed markedly from the 5.5-6.0% rates of recent years. As the commodities... 19th May 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Mexico shifts towards a sweet spot Tempting though it is to blame the recent weakness of Mexico’s economy on problems north of the border, the truth is that many of the factors that have weighed on growth over the past six months or so... 16th May 2014 · 1 min read
