Emerging Europe Economics Focus Spring elections to spotlight fiscal frailties Forthcoming elections in Hungary and the Czech Republic are likely to spotlight fiscal frailties in both countries. As ever, the risks remain greatest in Hungary. But the likelihood of a weak... 31st March 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungary & Romania still playing catch-up The fact that policymakers in both Hungary and Romania are still cutting interest rates when their counterparts elsewhere in the world have begun to withdraw stimulus measures reflects the depth of... 29th March 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Chart Pack Too soon to dismiss fiscal risks (Mar 10) Financial markets in Emerging Europe have, for the most part, brushed off sovereign debt concerns in the euro-zone’s periphery. While bond markets sold off earlier this year as the crisis in Greece... 29th March 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungarian consumer sector to remain under pressure Despite the recent improvement in Hungarian retail sales and wage data, domestic demand will continue to weigh on growth in the near-term. All told, we expect the economy to contract once again this... 23rd March 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Rates hikes still not imminent (Mar 10) Market rate expectations have edged down in recent weeks, but we still think that the pace of tightening currently priced in for most countries in the region is too aggressive. While inflation has... 19th March 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Chart Pack Q4 GDP data a mixed bag (Feb 10) Q4 GDP data, released over the past month, have painted rather a mixed picture. The good news is that a number of countries, notably Russia and Poland, appear to have grown on a quarterly basis. But... 25th February 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungary: NBH to continue with cautious cuts Some commentators think that this afternoon’s decision by the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) to cut interest rates by 25bps to 5.75% will mark the end of the current easing cycle. However, while the... 22nd February 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Policymakers to look through rise in inflation (Feb 10) Although inflation has risen across much of the region in recent months, policymakers remain in no rush to raise interest rates. For a start, the bulk of the pick-up in inflation has been caused by... 18th February 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Chart Pack Pick-up in inflation to prove temporary (Jan 10) Inflation across much of Emerging Europe has risen in recent months. Nonetheless, there are good reasons to think that these rises will be short-lived. For a start, the pick-ups have been driven... 29th January 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungary: slower pace of easing, but rates to fall further This afternoon’s decision by the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) to cut interest rates by 25bps to 6% suggests that policymakers will now cut rates at a slower pace than we previously thought... 25th January 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungarian elections to spotlight fiscal frailties The very worst fears of a major fiscal blow-out in the run-up to Hungary’s parliamentary elections are probably overblown. But given Hungary’s comparatively high level of debt and history of fiscal... 25th January 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update In no rush to tighten (Jan 10) While policymakers in a number of countries have appeared less dovish of late, three factors should keep interest rates much lower than the markets currently expect. First, the pace of economic... 21st January 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Chart Pack 2009: a year to forget or a spur for reform? (Dec 09) Twenty years after the fall of Communism, 2009 should have been a year to celebrate in Eastern Europe. Instead, it looks like a year to forget. The region was hit harder than any other by the turmoil... 23rd December 2009 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Policymakers to retain their dovish bias (Dec 09) The markets are now pricing in relatively aggressive monetary tightening from mid-2010 in most countries in Emerging Europe but we think that three factors will keep rates much lower than investors... 18th December 2009 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economic Outlook Domestic pressures to hold back the recovery (Q4 2009) The good news is that following the turmoil earlier this year, most economies in Emerging Europe have now returned to positive growth and financial markets have bounced. The bad news is that a number... 10th December 2009 · 1 min read
