Asia Economics Update North Korea, Trump and South Korea’s economy Donald Trump’s decision to accept an invitation to visit North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, represents an extraordinary turn of events, and comes just a few months after the US president was calling... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Global Economics Focus US fiscal stimulus to have limited global impact The Trump fiscal stimulus, which has turned out to be larger than seemed likely a few months ago, should boost economic growth in the US a little, and encourage the Fed to press on with six rate hikes... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Industrial Production, Construction & Trade (Jan.) January’s output data was disappointing. That said, the manufacturing sector is still growing strongly by past standards, while the surveys continue to point to GDP growth holding broadly steady. 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German, French & Spanish Industrial Production (Jan.) Large declines in energy output as a result unseasonably-warm temperatures explain much of the weakness in industrial production across the euro-zone in January. Meanwhile, the business surveys remain... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly What would a trade war mean for Asia? Developments in the past couple of weeks point to the risk of trade policy in the US becoming much more protectionist. Given its huge bilateral trade surplus with the US, China is likely to be the... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Yen strength another stumbling block for BoJ The yen would have to strengthen much further before it turns into a major drag on export competitiveness and corporate profits. However, the recent appreciation should bring the pick-up in goods... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Why aren’t Australians working harder? The slump in the annual rate of productivity growth to a 22-year low of -1.0% in the fourth quarter suggests that Australian’s aren’t working very hard and that this will damage their prosperity in... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Labour Cash Earnings & Household Spending (Jan.) The slowdown in base pay in January underlines that the Bank of Japan won’t be able to tighten monetary policy anytime soon. Meanwhile, the jump in household spending in January is good news but we... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Focus Trump, trade and the protectionist threat: a primer Fears are growing that recent developments in the US, including the imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminium as well as the apparent ascendancy of economic nationalists within the White House, may... 8th March 2018 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus What next for the Andes? We expect recoveries in Colombia, Chile and Peru to continue over the coming years as investment strengthens and consumer spending picks up. There are downside risks to the outlook – namely large... 8th March 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update CEE: early signs that strong demand is leaking into imports Q4 GDP breakdowns for the economies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) confirmed that last year’s pick-up in regional growth was driven by an improvement in consumer spending and investment. However... 8th March 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Economy Watchers Survey (Feb.) The Economy Watchers Survey weakened further in February as poor weather persisted. The survey suggests that private consumption has slowed quite sharply. 8th March 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response GDP (Q4 Revised) Revised GDP data show that growth was stronger in Q4 than initially reported. But with the economy running into capacity constraints, we still think that the expansion will lose vigour this year. 8th March 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response International Merchandise Trade (Jan.) The narrowing of the merchandise trade deficit in January is actually a concern because it was driven by a large decline in imports, which points to weakening domestic demand. In addition, the further... 7th March 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone GDP (Q4) The third estimate of euro-zone GDP in Q4 showed that the 0.6% expansion was driven mainly by net exports. Timelier evidence suggests that growth is no longer accelerating, but we still expect the... 7th March 2018 · 1 min read
India Economics Focus Is India finally coming of age? Talk of India’s potential to become the “next China” is inevitable given their enormous populations, and will intensify as China’s economy slows. Those hoping that India can match China’s former rates... 7th March 2018 · 1 min read
