Latin America Economics Weekly Graft scandal rattles Argentine markets The Turkish lira may have surpassed the Argentine peso as the worst performing EM currency this year, but Argentine markets have still had a rough week. The lesson from other parts of Latin America is... 10th August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Will Turkey’s crisis affect other EMs? Aside from the impact on a few small neighbouring countries, most notably Bulgaria, the direct risk of contagion from Turkey’s crisis to other EMs is fairly low. However, Turkey’s problems may add to... 10th August 2018 · 1 min read
UK Data Response GDP: First Estimate (Q2) The GDP figures confirmed that the economy bounced back after the weak start to the year and will reassure the Monetary Policy Committee that it was right to raise interest rates last week. 10th August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Trade Monitor EM exports shrug off tariffs, but worrying signs ahead Early signs suggest that the first round of Washington’s tariffs on China had little effect on EM trade in July. Growing headwinds, however, suggest that export growth will slow in late 2018 and into... 9th August 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Free trade with the US: opportunity or threat? The accord between Presidents Trump and Juncker to aim for free US/EU trade in non-auto industrial goods poses a minor threat to some EU sectors, including chemicals and plastics. But existing tariffs... 9th August 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Saudi-Canada spat, Iran sanctioned The diplomatic spat that erupted between Saudi Arabia and Canada this week should have little economic impact, but it does risk undermining investor confidence in Saudi Arabia at a time when the... 9th August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Sanctions and the importance of balance sheets The fact that the US sanctions (or the threat of) are having a bigger impact on financial markets in Turkey than Russia reflects the latter’s much stronger balance sheets as well as the credibility of... 9th August 2018 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Assessing the impact of a trade war on the UK The macroeconomic impact on the UK of the tariffs which the US has already imposed on the EU and of the retaliatory tariffs which the EU has imposed on the US, will be trivial. The threat of... 8th August 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Strength in China’s imports unlikely to be sustained China’s commodity import volumes revived in July, but from a low base a month earlier. Indeed, we think import volumes will fall back in the coming months in line with the slowdown in economic... 8th August 2018 · 1 min read
China Data Response Trade (Jul.) Chinese export growth held steady last month with few signs of much impact from the first round of US tariffs on $34bn worth of Chinese exports, which came into force on 6th July. Import growth jumped... 8th August 2018 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Tariffs and renminbi fall won’t cause jump in inflation If carried out, China’s threat last week to expand tariffs to cover more than 70% of its imports from the US would nudge up import costs, though only very slightly. The renminbi’s recent depreciation... 7th August 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Consumer slowdown should prove temporary Q2’s slowdown in GDP growth to just 0.3% q/q dealt a blow to hopes that the softness of growth in the first quarter would be a one-off. While no breakdown is available yet, timely data from France and... 7th August 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Midterms 2018: What's at stake? The most likely outcome of the midterm elections is legislative gridlock, although a second round of tax cuts would be unlikely even if the Republicans narrowly maintain control of both Houses of... 7th August 2018 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Iran, sanctions and the implications for the rest of MENA The re-introduction of the first tranche of US sanctions on Iran, which came into force today, will result in a downturn in Iran’s economy but, as things stand, the economic impact on the rest of the... 7th August 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey: another emergency rate hike? The Turkish lira has recovered some of its losses in the past few hours, but the plunge in the currency over the past few weeks is now on a scale which has, in the past, prompted the central bank to... 7th August 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Industrial Production & Trade (Jun.) June’s industrial production and trade figures suggest that the previously booming German economy is already feeling the effects of trade tensions. But with the domestic economy in good shape and... 7th August 2018 · 1 min read