UK Economics Update Brexit events raise risk economy is in limbo for longer The reaction to Theresa May’s “new” Brexit deal suggests that the chances of a deal have fallen and the chances of another delay, a no deal, no Brexit and/or a general election have all risen. It’s... 22nd May 2019 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Trade tensions may exacerbate retail sales slump Retail sales growth slowed sharply in April, to its slowest pace since the SARS outbreak in 2003. While part of the weakness can be explained by a drop in fuel prices, the slowdown was not limited to... 22nd May 2019 · 1 min read
India Economics Update Drop in car sales exaggerating consumption weakness The recent sharp drop in vehicle sales might signal that household consumption has slumped. But a significant part of the drop in sales can be explained by industry-specific factors including higher... 22nd May 2019 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Machinery Orders (Mar.) Despite the rise in March’s core machinery orders, investment in machinery and transport equipment is likely to have fallen in the first quarter. Early indicators also suggest that orders will remain... 22nd May 2019 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Rebound in productivity growth has further to run The unexpected 0.5% q/q rise in GDP and the 3% q/q plunge in total hours worked in the first quarter meant that productivity rose at its fastest pace in nearly four years. That makes sense because... 21st May 2019 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update No smoking gun in German industrial slowdown While the sharp downturns in the German motor vehicle and chemical sectors have attracted a lot of attention, the weakness of other sectors accounts for more of the slowdown in production since 2017... 21st May 2019 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Thailand GDP (Q1) GDP growth in Thailand slowed to a four-year low in the first quarter of the year, and with exports set to remain weak, we expect growth to stay subdued. The uncertain political situation is the main... 21st May 2019 · 1 min read
India Chart Pack Modi on the cusp of victory Exit polls signal that Prime Minister Modi’s BJP and its coalition partners in the National Democratic Alliance have won India’s election. Admittedly, exit polls have been wrong in the past, not least... 21st May 2019 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update What’s behind the slump in commodity producers? The weakness in EM commodity producers at the start of the year seems to reflect a coincidence of shocks, and probably won’t last. But the key point is that many commodity producers are yet to fully... 20th May 2019 · 1 min read
Latin America Data Response Chile GDP (Q1) The slowdown in Chilean GDP growth from 3.6% y/y in Q4 to 1.6% y/y in Q1 was due to weak domestic demand and problems in the copper sector, which hit exports. And while the consensus expects a strong... 20th May 2019 · 1 min read
Africa Data Response Nigeria GDP (Q1) Nigerian GDP growth slowed to 2.0% y/y in Q1, strengthening our view that the economy will perform worse than most expect over the course of 2019. We think that today’s weak result will encourage... 20th May 2019 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response GDP (Q1 Preliminary) The surprising resilience of the economy at the start of the year means that GDP growth will be stronger this year than we had anticipated. It also suggests that the government will press ahead with... 20th May 2019 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Weekly Dire Brazil data, tensions brewing in Argentina Data released this week all-but-confirm that Brazilian GDP contracted in Q1 and it looks touch and go as to whether the economy entered a technical recession in Q2. Another fall in output this quarter... 17th May 2019 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Data Response Russia GDP (Q1 2019) The much weaker-than-anticipated Russian Q1 GDP growth figure of 0.5% y/y is consistent with a q/q contraction in output. We think that this probably marks the trough and growth should pick up over... 17th May 2019 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Weekly S. Africa stumbles, Unemployment rises, Kenya bond sale Activity data out this week added to the evidence that South Africa’s economy contracted by about 2% in Q1. Figures out next week, by contrast, will probably show that growth accelerated in Nigeria... 17th May 2019 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly CEE GDP, Turkey fiscal stimulus & Russian tainted oil An impressive batch of GDP data from Central and Eastern Europe, released this week, added to the evidence that strong domestic demand is offsetting external weakness. Elsewhere, Turkey’s budget... 17th May 2019 · 1 min read
