Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Gulf economies well placed to weather global weakness The Gulf looks comparatively well placed to weather the further deterioration in the global economy that we expect in 2013. Government spending has increased significantly in recent years, but there... 15th November 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Middle East break-evens won’t set a floor on oil prices The recent increases in the level of the oil price required to balance government budgets for the major Gulf producers are often cited as a reason to expect the cost of crude to remain high. In... 15th November 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Subsidy cuts likely to push Egypt inflation higher The latest data from Egypt paint a disappointing picture of weakening growth and rising inflation. And with subsidy cuts and tax hikes expected as conditions to any agreement with the IMF, headline... 12th November 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Emerging market vehicle sales hint at consumer slowdown The latest vehicle sales data suggest that emerging market consumer spending has taken a turn for the worse. Moreover, the fact that vehicle sales growth has outstripped production in Latin America... 12th November 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Trade Monitor Export improvement so far limited to Asia There are tentative signs that export performance in some emerging markets has begun to improve. But for now this pick-up seems to have been limited to manufacturing-based economies, mainly in Asia... 8th November 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt: IMF deal closer, but devaluation still an issue Media reports suggesting that the Egyptian government could reach a deal with the IMF within the next few months is clearly good news. However, we have been here before and we suspect the issue of... 8th November 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update China's leadership change matters more to EMs than US election The imminent leadership change in China is a more significant event for emerging economies than the re-election of President Obama. The installation of a cohesive Chinese leadership committed to... 7th November 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update External financing continues to trouble resource-poor countries Talks between Egypt and the IMF this month have focused attention back onto the external financing requirements of the region’s resource-poor economies. But so long as their oil-rich neighbours... 6th November 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi PMI continues to point to strong non-oil sector October’s PMI data suggest that Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector continues to grow at a robust pace, but our own activity proxy – based on actual hard data – indicates that the economy has... 5th November 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update PMIs improve, but EM manufacturing growth still sluggish The PMI data released across the emerging world over the past few days showed some signs of improvement, but the bigger picture is that manufacturers are still struggling – particularly in the smaller... 2nd November 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Middle East Markets Monitor (Oct.) The arrival of an IMF delegation in Egypt and hopes that a deal will soon be concluded have supported the local equity and bond markets over the past few months. Yet, this isn’t the first time that a... 31st October 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Focus Has China helped or hurt emerging economies? China’s development has had a significant impact on emerging market growth, and not all economies have unambiguously benefitted. Even countries that have made the most of Chinese demand may find... 31st October 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Market too hawkish on most EM interest rates in 2013 We expect relatively weak economic growth to keep interest rates in most emerging markets lower than the market currently anticipates next year. The key exceptions are India, where we suspect that... 29th October 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Remittances to emerging markets to remain resilient Despite our forecast that global growth will continue to disappoint over the next couple of years, we expect remittances to most emerging markets will remain resilient. This will help drive growth in... 26th October 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Inflation set to edge up There are tentative signs that the slowdown in Emerging Market (EM) inflation seen over the past year has bottomed out. We expect EM inflation to quicken over the next six months, mainly due to faster... 25th October 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Inflationary pressures easing in the Gulf Recent activity data provide further evidence that the Gulf economies are slowing. The good news is that inflationary pressures are easing at the same time. This will boost households’ real incomes... 25th October 2012 · 1 min read