Europe Economics Update Calls for secession are a blow to fiscal union hopes Calls for independence from the richest regions of Spain, Belgium and Italy threaten to blow big holes in the public finances of the three economies. And more fundamentally, growing public aversion to... 18th October 2012 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Angolan SWF is a (small) step in the right direction On the face of it, yesterday’s announcement from Angolan President José dos Santos that the country has launched a sovereign wealth fund is a positive step towards better management of oil revenues... 18th October 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update A closer look at the presidential candidates’ housing plans The election campaign has been frustratingly light on detail with regards to housing policy. Piecing together what we have, however, it looks like anyone expecting either candidates’ housing plan to... 18th October 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkish rate cut a symbolic move Today’s decision by the Central Bank of Turkey (CBRT) to cut its overnight lending rate – which forms the upper bound of its “interest rate corridor” – is a largely symbolic move that is most likely... 18th October 2012 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Flirting with recession Japan’s economy almost certainly contracted in the third quarter after growth stalled in Q2. What’s more, available data for September show no sign of a turnaround, with business conditions, measures... 18th October 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update What would a Spanish bail-out mean for Italy? A Spanish bail-out and subsequent ECB bond purchases may reinforce the perception that policymakers will provide similar support to Italy to keep its bond yields down too. But lower bond yields will... 18th October 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Are commercial property investment volumes in CEE set to recover? Given the weak economic outlook for the Emerging European economies and the fact that credit conditions are likely to remain tight, we suspect that over the next 18 months the recent rise in... 18th October 2012 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Economy stabilising, on course for weak recovery Today’s data releases provide the strongest signs yet that China’s economy stabilised in Q3, along with glimmers of hope that a recovery began towards the end of the quarter. But we are sceptical that... 18th October 2012 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Retail Sales (Sep.) September’s rise in the official measure of retail sales volumes suggested that consumers have loosened their purse strings a little. However, the rise partly reflected temporary sources of support... 18th October 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Chart Pack Growth subdued, but stabilising Emerging market GDP appears to have grown by around 4.5% y/y in Q3 – broadly the same rate as in Q2, but well down on the 8% y/y growth rates seen in 2010. At a regional level, Emerging Asia has... 18th October 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Argentina: fiscal monetisation to drive inflation higher There are some parallels between the money printing being undertaken by Argentina’s central bank (BCRA) and quantitative easing policies in the West. But in contrast to the developed economies... 18th October 2012 · 1 min read
US Fed Watch Fed unlikely to rock the boat again so soon After the launch of QE3 and the strengthening of its forward-looking guidance at the last meeting in mid-September, we don't anticipate any major changes from the Fed at next week's two-day FOMC... 18th October 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Brent-WTI spread getting silly again The widening differential between the prices of Brent crude and the traditional US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), is increasingly hard to justify in terms of the fundamentals of the oil... 17th October 2012 · 1 min read
Africa Economic Outlook Solid growth amid global weakness Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is not completely immune to the continuing crisis in the euro-zone and the effects of weakening growth elsewhere in the developed world, but strong domestic demand and scope... 17th October 2012 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Are the labour market statistics telling the real story? In explaining the UK’s ‘productivity puzzle’ – the conundrum of a dismal GDP performance combined with strong employment growth – one possibility is that the GDP figures are understating the actual... 17th October 2012 · 1 min read
