Global Economic Outlook Growing risk of another recession We expect growth to be very low or negative in most advanced economies next year. The euro-zone is already heading for recession, and if its public debt and banking crisis is not contained, the rest... 20th October 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Does Asia still have fiscal firepower? Governments in Malaysia and the Philippines have recently announced big increases in spending to support their economies. But in the event that the developed world slips back into recession, not every... 18th October 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Indian inflation stays high, despite slower growth Wholesale price inflation data for India, released today, suggest the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to go ahead and raise its repo rate by a further 25bp, to 8.5%, at its next rate-setting... 15th October 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update More policy loosening on the way in Singapore The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) loosened its policy settings today by targeting a slower pace of currency appreciation. Q3 GDP figures, also released today, show that the economy had little... 15th October 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korea’s central bank to cut next year The Bank of Korea (BoK) kept its base rate at 3.25% today, as expected. The BoK’s commentary suggests it still expects to resume rate increases once concerns over the outlook for the global economy... 14th October 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Indonesia changes course on interest rates Bank Indonesia (BI) unexpectedly cut its reference rate by 25bp to 6.5% today. We expect difficult economic conditions in the developed economies and falling inflation in Indonesia to bring more... 12th October 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Falling inflation will provide a welcome boost Inflation appears to have peaked in most of emerging Asia, opening the door for rate cuts across much of the region next year. In this week’s key events, policy rate decisions from Sri Lanka... 11th October 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economic Outlook Asia set to weaken but still outperform A slowdown in developed economies in 2012-13 is set to pull down growth in emerging Asia to a below-trend pace. However, the region’s healthy fundamentals mean that emerging Asia should once again be... 6th October 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asia manufacturing weakens further September PMIs for Asia released over the past couple of days remained weak. Although Asia is relatively well-placed to withstand weaker global demand, the recent PMIs reinforce our view that Asian... 5th October 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia's central bank considers rate cuts The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) held its cash rate at 4.75% today, as was widely anticipated. But given the shift in the tone of the RBA’s commentary and our recent downgrades to global growth... 5th October 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Rapid credit growth in Asia is a concern Private sector credit growth across emerging Asia has accelerated sharply since the economic recovery began in mid-2009. With domestic private sector credit as a share of GDP in emerging Asia at an... 4th October 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly What lies ahead for Asia’s currencies? Asia’s currencies have fallen sharply against the US dollar this month and we expect the downward pressure to continue in the near term. However, once the global financial situation starts to... 27th September 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asia growth forecasts cut amid weak global outlook Owing to our recent downward revisions to growth in the US and euro-zone in 2011-12 we have cut our forecasts for growth across emerging Asia. However, in a reflection of the region’s healthy... 23rd September 2011 · 1 min read
Commodities Update What does Thailand’s rice scheme mean for global prices? Thailand, the world’s largest rice exporter, is set to introduce a generous price floor for local rice farmers, fuelling speculation that global rice prices are about to surge. However, we expect any... 22nd September 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Asia's coming struggle with capital inflows Asian markets would of course be vulnerable to a retreat of global capital if the debt crises in Europe and the US intensified. But any reversal of flows will be temporary. Dealing effectively with... 20th September 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Reserve Bank of India near the end of policy tightening The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised its repo rate by 25bp to 8.25% today, as anticipated, citing further increases in core inflation. Provided the euro-zone crisis does not escalate dramatically in... 17th September 2011 · 1 min read