Middle East & North Africa Economic Outlook MENA set for a much weaker 2023 Growth across the Middle East and North Africa is set to slow sharply, and by more than most expect, in 2023. IMF deals will help to contain balance of payments strains in the non-Gulf economies but... 30th March 2023 · 25 mins read
Canada Economics Weekly Most of the hit from high interest rates still to come The fixed payment structure of most variable rate mortgages has cushioned households from the impact of high interest rates so far, with the data this week confirming that debt service costs remained... 17th March 2023 · 6 mins read
Latin America Economics Update “Malbec dollar” won’t save Argentina from devaluation A preferential rate to facilitate wine exports is the latest addition to Argentina’s myriad exchange rates, but it doesn’t address the fundamental problem that the peso is overvalued. We estimate that... 15th March 2023 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Egypt: winners and losers of a weaker EGP emerging Recent falls in the pound and rising borrowing costs forced Egypt’s Ministry of Finance to revise up its targets for debt and the budget deficit earlier this week, but we remain of the view that the... 2nd March 2023 · 8 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil: is a corporate debt crisis brewing? The dramatic rise in borrowing costs in Brazil in the past few years appears to be causing debt problems at a growing number of companies. So far at least, there is little evidence of widespread... 28th February 2023 · 4 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Argentina & the IMF, Banxico hawks Argentina is closing in on the next disbursement of IMF funding but, while the economy met many of last year’s performance criteria, the deal is likely to become rockier this year. Elsewhere, the... 24th February 2023 · 7 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Morocco’s drought, Egypt’s dollar sukuk The effects of another severe drought in Morocco have weighed on growth, pushed up inflation and fuelled pockets of unrest. Supermarkets in Europe have felt the impact too, with many reporting... 23rd February 2023 · 6 mins read
Africa Economics Update South Africa sticking with fiscal prudence In today’s budget speech, South Africa’s finance minister tried (largely successfully) to pull off the difficult task of sticking to fiscal prudence while partly relieving the struggling state-owned... 22nd February 2023 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly SA budget preview, final stretch ahead of Nigeria’s polls South Africa’s mounting economic and political challenges, including the deepening energy crisis, set the stage for the fiscal scales to tip towards providing more support and away from fiscal... 17th February 2023 · 7 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Dubai GRE debts, Tunisia’s IMF deal, Saudi real estate Dubai’s economic backdrop has improved markedly in the past year or so and has provided government-related entities with room to breathe in the face of large debt repayments this year, including a $5... 16th February 2023 · 6 mins read
Africa Economics Update Five key questions on Nigeria’s public finances No matter who wins the race to be Nigeria’s next president, the public debt-to-GDP ratio is likely to remain on an upwards path in the near-term. But victory for an opposition candidate could make the... 15th February 2023 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Update Singapore tightens fiscal policy despite economic slowdown While Singapore’s government has framed today’s budget as being designed to help poorer households cope with a rise in the cost of living, the main macro impact is a tightening of fiscal policy at a... 14th February 2023 · 3 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Geopolitical tensions beginning to enter debt talks Investors’ concerns about sovereign debt risks in frontier markets have eased a touch recently but several countries, particularly Tunisia and Pakistan, remain on the path to default. The latest (and... 7th February 2023 · 5 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly South Africa’s sorry state of the nation South Africa’s upcoming State of the Nation Address will undoubtedly focus on addressing the deepening energy crisis. But there’s little that the authorities can do to ease power cuts in the near-term... 3rd February 2023 · 5 mins read
Africa Chart Pack Growth faltering in region’s biggest economies While the economic outlook in much of the world has turned less downbeat in recent weeks, the prospects for Sub-Saharan Africa’s two biggest economies have, if anything, got gloomier due to homegrown... 31st January 2023 · 12 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Fixed-rate loans delay and reduce effect of higher rates The shift away from floating-rate to fixed-rate mortgages presents risks as well as benefits. It will protect homeowners who are lucky enough to have a long time remaining on their fixed rate contract... 30th January 2023 · 3 mins read