Asia Chart Pack Retail spending picks up, but recovery uneven There has been a gradual recovery in retail spending in Emerging Asia during 2014. The top performing countries are Indonesia and Malaysia, where retail sales are expanding at a double digit pace. In... 26th November 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Minimal impact from the end of QE3 Asia's financial markets have so far taken the end of QE3 largely in their stride. The performance of the region's currencies and equity markets has been fairly muted over the past month, while... 31st October 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack No sign of improvement Economic growth in Emerging Asia is showing no sign of improvement. Our GDP tracker is pointing to growth of around 4.5% in the third quarter, which is roughly unchanged from the previous quarter and... 28th October 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Rates on hold in the Philippines, but further hikes likely The decision to leave interest rates in the Philippines on hold at 4.0% today reflects a recent easing of inflationary pressures. Nevertheless, with credit still growing at an unsustainable pace and... 23rd October 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Indonesia’s new president has his work cut out Joko Widodo, the outgoing mayor of Jakarta, who takes over as Indonesia’s president on Monday, is seen by some as the man to turn the country’s fortunes around. But while he has attracted plenty of... 17th October 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economic Outlook Steady, if unspectacular, growth ahead Most economies in Emerging Asia are likely to see growth accelerate gradually over the next year, helped by a combination of stronger demand from advanced economies and relatively loose monetary... 8th October 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Aussie and Kiwi dollars lead Asia’s currency sell-off Asia’s financial markets performed poorly in September, largely reflecting concerns about the outlook for US monetary policy. The New Zealand and Australian dollars were the worst performers, but... 30th September 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack What is behind the recent currency weakness? Sizeable falls in a number of Asian currencies against the US dollar over the past month have rekindled unwelcome memories of last summer’s “Taper Tantrum”. As was the case during last year’s sell-off... 23rd September 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Credit growth in Emerging Asia still unsustainable We have been arguing for some time that Emerging Asia’s credit binge is unsustainable, and that credit growth will need to slow for a crisis to be avoided. While there are encouraging signs that... 19th September 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Further tightening likely in the Philippines The central bank in the Philippines (BSP) today hiked two key policy rates against a backdrop of increasing risks in the financial sector and rising inflationary pressures. We expect to see further... 11th September 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Property price bubbles a key risk There are signs property prices are coming off the boil in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. That said, prices in these three economies still look significantly overvalued, and a slump in prices... 5th September 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asian financial markets higher, but political risks weigh on Pakistan Most of Asia’s stock markets and currencies strengthened in August. The key exception is Pakistan, where political uncertainty has returned to the fore. 28th August 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Growth in the Philippines to accelerate further GDP growth in the Philippines accelerated in the second quarter of the year, due to a strong contribution from net exports. Looking ahead, prospects for both exports and domestic demand look healthy... 28th August 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Mr Modi’s "first 100 days" prove underwhelming India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is approaching the end of his first hundred days in office on 3rd September with a worrying sense of drift rather than direction. Hopes that he would make a... 22nd August 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Emerging Asia has less to fear from Fed tightening The trend over the past year in most of Emerging Asia has been towards bigger current account surpluses or smaller deficits. This should make their currencies less vulnerable to any negative shifts in... 21st August 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Consumer spending in Emerging Asia set for recovery Emerging Asia’s consumers have been struggling in recent months. Tight labour markets and improving growth prospects point to some pick-up going forward, but high levels of household debt in a number... 4th August 2014 · 1 min read