Asia Economics Update Taiwan election: 3.5% growth target is unachievable The front runner in Taiwan’s election, Lai Ching-te, is targeting economic growth of 3.5% if he wins the presidency. We think this will be out of reach. Although productivity growth should hold up... 13th December 2023 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economic Outlook Another year of sluggish growth Economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa will strengthen a little in 2024 but is likely to come in well below consensus expectations. OPEC+’s cautious approach to oil policy will keep a lid... 13th December 2023 · 22 mins read
Africa Rapid Response South Africa Activity Data (Oct.) September’s activity data for South Africa suggest that economy continued to struggle at the start of Q4. But we think that a combination of easing electricity outages and less restrictive fiscal... 13th December 2023 · 2 mins read
UK Economics Rapid Response Contraction in October sets scene for stagnation in 2024 The 0.3% m/m fall in real GDP in October (consensus forecast 0.0%, CE forecast -0.2%) suggests that the economy may go nowhere again in Q4 or perhaps is in the mildest of mild recessions. That may... 13th December 2023 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Another fiscal surplus is in sight Today’s budget update showed that the government now expects a balanced budget in 2023/24, as opposed to the modest deficit it had projected a few months ago. With revenue likely to outperform the... 13th December 2023 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economic Outlook Downturn will prompt policy easing next year We suspect that both economies will narrowly avoid a recession but a prolonged period of below-trend growth will reduce price pressures and allow central banks to ease monetary policy again. We’ve... 13th December 2023 · 20 mins read
Emerging Markets Economic Outlook Diverging Paths Aggregate EM GDP growth will enter a slower phase over the coming quarters. But the headline figure masks an unusually large variation in prospects at a country level. Many of the EMs that fared... 12th December 2023 · 27 mins read
Europe Economic Outlook Recession and rate cuts The euro-zone will remain in or close to recession in the first half of 2024 as the effects of higher interest rates continue to weigh on household consumption and investment, and fiscal policy is... 12th December 2023 · 30 mins read
Canada Economics Weekly Bank risks doing more harm than good The Bank of Canada this week reiterated that strong immigration is putting upward pressure on inflation because housing supply is failing to keep up. Yet the Bank surely can’t be oblivious to the... 8th December 2023 · 5 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Venezuela-Guyana tensions, new macro forecasts Venezuela’s increasingly assertive claims over the oil-rich Essequibo region, internationally recognised as part of Guyana, has raised the risk of some kind of miscalculation that leads to military... 8th December 2023 · 7 mins read
China Economics Weekly Debt woes widely known but far from priced in Moody’s downgrade to China’s rating outlook received a muted response in markets. That’s partly because the country’s economic challenges are already widely known. But the bigger picture is that... 8th December 2023 · 7 mins read
India Economics Weekly Election manoeuvres, hawkish RBI, Q1 Outlook The surge in the Sensex this week - to a fresh record high today - following the announcement of the BJP’s victories in three state elections is perhaps an indication that investors are confident that... 8th December 2023 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Rate cuts will be in play sooner than most expect The RBA's revised Statement on the Conduct of Monetary Policy has been interpreted as hawkish by some commentators. However, our view is that the new statement doesn't meaningfully alter the RBA's... 8th December 2023 · 6 mins read
Canada Economic Outlook Further falls in GDP to trigger interest rate cuts Further declines in GDP in the coming quarters mean that the economy is unlikely to grow at all next year. Weak growth and a return in inflation to the 2% target will leave scope for the Bank of... 7th December 2023 · 14 mins read