Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt: economic growth too slow to bring down unemployment The Egyptian economy has shown signs of recovering in recent months but this has yet to feed through to the labour market. Crucially, GDP growth is still below the rates of around 4-5% that are needed... 18th February 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Could devaluations be on the cards in the non-oil economies? Some of the largest falls in emerging market currencies in recent weeks have come in countries where exchange rates are tightly managed and foreign exchange reserves are low. On this basis, the MENA... 13th February 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Trade Monitor EM exports picking up, but recovery uneven Surprisingly strong export growth from China last month has raised hopes of a broader recovery in EM exports. However, the country level data suggest that export performances are highly uneven, with... 12th February 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi Arabia: a disappointing end to 2013 Our GDP Tracker suggests that the Saudi economy ended last year on a weaker note. We expect growth to pick up this year, but this will largely be due to a rebound in the oil sector. Activity in the... 12th February 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Is Tunisia really on the path to recovery? It’s still early days, but we think that political developments in Tunisia over the past few months provide reasons to be optimistic about the country’s economic outlook. 11th February 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Focus Will the BRICs embrace economic reforms? The recent slowdown in the major BRIC economies has been driven largely by structural factors, meaning that a new wave of reforms is needed if they are to regain their vigour. But, as things stand... 10th February 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Manufacturing PMIs highlight EM divergence Emerging market (EM) manufacturing appears to have slowed last month but, perhaps more importantly, there is a widening divergence between countries. Activity seems to be picking up in the more open... 6th February 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update How are Saudi consumers faring? Saudi consumer spending has grown by 6-7% a year over the past decade, but low-profile indicators suggest that household spending may have lost some steam. 5th February 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Focus Five questions (and answers) about the turmoil in EM markets The emerging world may not be facing a re-run of the late-1990s, as some have suggested, but theprecarious position of some EMs makes it likely that several economies will run into trouble overthe... 4th February 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update PMIs highlight Egypt’s fragile recovery Last month’s PMI suggests that political turmoil surrounding Egypt’s constitutional referendum disrupted economic activity. Meanwhile, growth in non-oil sectors in the Gulf appears to remain strong. 4th February 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Currency turmoil not yet a risk to EM inflation As things stand, the recent sharp falls in emerging market (EM) currencies do not appear to be a major threat to EM inflation. Even those emerging economies that have borne the brunt of the currency... 31st January 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update IMF deals and Gulf aid spare MENA’s non-oil producers In spite of their large current account deficits, the MENA region’s non-oil economies have stayed out of the spotlight during the recent turmoil in EM financial markets thanks, it seems, to IMF... 30th January 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Activity Monitor Economic fallout from market turmoil should be contained It’s too early to say with any certainty what impact the current turmoil in financial markets will have on EM growth. But while we expect the countries that have been hit hardest in recent weeks –... 30th January 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Turkey & India likely to be the exception rather than the rule The decisions by Turkey and India yesterday to raise interest rates have inevitably led to speculation that market turbulence will force policymakers in other parts of the emerging world to follow... 29th January 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egyptian financial markets rally on hopes for political stability The Egyptian stock market has rallied in recent days amid growing optimism about the prospects for political stability. The recently approved constitution paves the way for elections to take place... 29th January 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack MENA financial markets shrug off broader EM concerns The MENA region’s financial markets have come through the latest bout of turmoil in EM markets relatively unscathed. Most equity markets have dropped back, although their losses have been small when... 27th January 2014 · 1 min read