Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Inflationary pressures mounting in Saudi Arabia and Egypt In contrast to other regions, February’s inflation data from Saudi Arabia and Egypt show that price pressures are mounting. In Saudi, strong domestic demand and favourable base effects are largely to... 12th March 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update North Africa’s new parliaments at risk of losing sight of economy A lack of policy direction in North Africa is jeopardising the already-sluggish economic recovery. Unemployment has reached record highs in both Egypt and Tunisia, fiscal and external positions are... 8th March 2012 · 1 min read
Global Inflation Watch Sustained fall in inflation underway Inflation will climb further in most major economies over the coming months, reflecting both higher energy prices and higher food prices. The peaks should still be lower than those in 2008 as long as... 7th March 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt’s central bank is running out of ammunition At first glance, today’s data showing that the pace of decline in Egypt’s foreign currency reserves slowed last month is good news. Indeed, Egyptian markets have been buoyed by hopes that the economy... 5th March 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt’s confused policy will hamper its recovery Recent comments from Saudi Arabia that its promises of financial aid to Egypt have been held back by the latter are at odds with earlier remarks from the Egyptian Prime Minister which lambasted... 1st March 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack High oil prices to swell Gulf coffers The jump in oil prices over the past month has sharpened the divide between the relatively bright outlook for the Middle East’s resource-rich countries, and the less rosy outlook for its resource-poor... 23rd February 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economic Outlook 'Arab Spring' puts the focus on near-term divergence It is becoming clear that one year on from the start of the ‘Arab Spring’ several countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are facing difficult transitions. Most of these are in... 16th February 2012 · 1 min read
Global Economics Focus How well will growth in emerging economies hold up? Emerging Asia and Latin America should continue to grow relatively fast even if the euro-zone slides into prolonged recession, as long as the US avoids the same fate. The outlook for emerging Europe... 16th February 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update In spite of recent plans, IMF help is still needed in Egypt With the government committed to safeguarding the pound and foreign funding yet to materialise, Egypt looks set to turn to its expatriates to raise debt finance. But while this would help capital... 15th February 2012 · 1 min read
Global Economics Focus What can emerging economies do to help the rest of the world? Emerging economies will continue growing rapidly this year and next while, despite a strong start to the year, we expect advanced economies to manage sub-trend growth, at best. But rapid growth in... 13th February 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Egypt Consumer Prices (Jan.) Even though Egyptian inflation fell in January, the recent slump in foreign currency reserves to dangerously low levels may leave the central bank with no choice but to hike rates next month. 9th February 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update The 'Arab Spring' one year on This Saturday marks a year since the end of Hosni Mubarak’s three-decade reign over Egypt. Only a few weeks before that, Tunisia’s revolution ended with the toppling of the Ben Ali regime. Since then... 8th February 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Middle East Markets Monitor (Feb.) The Arab world’s markets have underperformed in January. The exception is Egyptian stocks, which are up by 25% since the beginning of the year. However, we think that Egypt’s recovery is unlikely to... 7th February 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt: interest rate unchanged, but further hikes seem likely Today’s decision to keep the benchmark rate unchanged at 9.25% in a sign that Egypt’s central bank is increasingly confident that loans from the IMF and elsewhere will materialise soon. Indeed, the... 2nd February 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Syria: A prolonged crisis is on the cards The Arab League’s uncharacteristically unified position on Syria last year has quickly reversed. While some countries, led by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), favour a tough stance, others... 25th January 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt’s markets: strong start to 2012 may not be sustained On the back of a smooth start to the new parliament, Egyptian equities have jumped by 5.4% so far this week, and CDS premia have fallen by around 70 basis points. However, since last year’s revolution... 24th January 2012 · 1 min read
