Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt's external risks mean policy easing is off the cards Growing strains in the balance of payments continue to prevent any loosening of monetary policy to support Egypt’s struggling economy. We don’t think there will be any scope to ease policy until the... 31st January 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM recovery continues Our EM GDP Tracker suggests that the emerging market recovery is strengthening and that growth accelerated in the final months of last year. Asia and Latin America are still leading the recovery, but... 31st January 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Middle East Markets Monitor (Jan.) The Egyptian pound has fallen sharply over the past month after the Central Bank of Egypt loosened its grip on the currency. We think the pound could fall by a further 10-15% to around 7.5/US$... 29th January 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Chart Pack Bright start to the year Emerging markets are in a sweet spot at the moment. Economic growth appears to have accelerated towards 5% y/y in Q4 of last year, led by a rebound in the Chinese economy. At the same time, aside from... 24th January 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack All eyes on how far Egyptian pound will fall Although Egypt’s constitutional crisis has eased, the currency is now presenting a fresh cause for concern. Our central view remains that Egypt will secure an IMF deal which, combined with a return of... 24th January 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi stimulus to keep economy buoyant Our Saudi Activity Proxy shows that the economy picked up modestly towards the end of last year. And looking ahead, government stimulus should keep the economy growing at a healthy clip. 22nd January 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Trade Monitor Export recovery continues, but remains fragile The latest data show further strengthening in emerging market exports towards the end of 2012. However, the pace of export growth remains weak by historic standards. 22nd January 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update The 'Arab Spring' - two years on Two years have passed since the start of the ‘Arab Spring’ and the economic progress that many hoped for at the time still hasn’t materialised. But while the transition process is likely to remain... 21st January 2013 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Has the Saudi oil price target moved to $110? We continue to expect the price of a barrel of Brent to drop back below $100 this year, despite recent speculation that cuts to Saudi production signal an increased willingness to allow oil prices to... 17th January 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Which EMs will benefit from rising labour costs in China? China’s low-end exports are now losing global market share. Rapidly rising labour costs in China mean this trend is likely to continue. Although many countries can now compete with China on labour... 17th January 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Fiscal deficits squeezing investment in resource-poor economies With all eyes on Egypt’s currency crisis, it’s easy to forget the fiscal crisis hitting the resource-poor Arab countries at the same time. Gaping budget deficits are squeezing out investment and... 16th January 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egyptian inflation to rise - but not just because of the pound Fears that the recent fall in the Egyptian pound will lead to a sharp rise in inflation are overplayed. Instead, tax hikes and subsidy cuts are likely to have a much greater impact on headline... 15th January 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update How is government spending affecting EM growth? In parts of the emerging market world, an increasingly pro-cyclical government spending bias threatens to contribute to a more volatile pattern of growth. Within Latin America there is a risk that... 14th January 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi stimulus to help economy grow at healthy pace The rise in government spending announced in the Saudi budget for this year reinforces our view that supportive fiscal policy should enable the economy to continue to perform well despite a weak... 14th January 2013 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Slow start to 2013 in the US will hold back EMs The worst case scenarios associated with the US “fiscal cliff” have been avoided, but the US is still likely to get off to a slow start to the year. It will hold back growth in EMs, but it will not be... 9th January 2013 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Constitutional crisis weighs on Egyptian economy The latest PMI data suggest that Egypt’s constitutional crisis took a heavy toll on the economy at the end of last year. By contrast, activity in the Gulf economies is holding up well, buoyed by... 9th January 2013 · 1 min read
