US Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Aug. 12) The annual growth rates of the various broad money aggregates have slowed recently, but they will accelerate again as the Fed restarts its quantitative easing, this time purchasing $40bn of mortgage... 17th September 2012 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Stimulus hopes fizzle out Talk of a new stimulus package in China produced a 4% rally in the Shanghai Composite in the space of two days earlier this month. The turnaround was triggered by the government’s announcement that it... 17th September 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil "QE" debate masks deeper policy challenge Claims that large-scale foreign currency purchases have caused the Brazilian Central Bank to unwittingly engage in a form of quantitative easing are wide of the mark. But it does seem that during 2010... 17th September 2012 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Non-oil sector spurs modest pick-up in Nigerian growth The Nigerian economy picked up pace in the second quarter of this year, but problems in the oil sector mean that it is still growing below its potential. Nonetheless, with inflation remaining above... 17th September 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Indian government bites the bullet on reforms Friday’s decision to liberalise foreign investment goes some way to dispel the impression of policy paralysis in Delhi. However, implementation of these reforms will be slow, and further measures are... 17th September 2012 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Can Japan cope without nuclear power? Leaked details of the government’s new energy plan suggest that nuclear power will be phased-out by the 2030s. In this Weekly we argue that the main reason Japan coped without nuclear power this... 17th September 2012 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Are things better than four years ago? The fall in the real median household income to a 16-year low in 2011 means that many Americans are worse off now than they were when President Obama first took office. But the whole economy is... 17th September 2012 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Stalling exports adds to economy's woes The surge in Canada's monthly trade deficit to a record high of C$2.34bn in July illustrated that the deteriorating global economic backdrop is beginning to have a very marked impact. The widening of... 17th September 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Further glimmers of hope Last week’s developments bolstered hopes that the euro-zone has finally reached a “turning point”. Indeed, given the further falls in peripheral government bond yields, some optimists even questioned... 17th September 2012 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly Is the worst over for exporters? On the face of it, the substantial improvement in the trade figures in July and the recent easing of financial market turmoil in some of the UK’s most important export markets suggests that the... 17th September 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Three scenarios for Vietnam's crisis-hit economy High-profile arrests related to one of Vietnam’s biggest banks have brought problems in the country’s banking sector to the fore. This week’s lead article considers three scenarios for how Vietnam’s... 17th September 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update How positive is QE3 for housing? Further MBS purchases by the Fed won’t engineer the same drop in mortgage interest rates that earlier rounds did, and with mortgage-dependent buyers playing a relatively marginal role in the housing... 14th September 2012 · 1 min read
US Data Response Uni. of Mich. Consumer Confidence (Sep.) Despite the sharp increase in gasoline prices and the looming fiscal cliff, the University of Michigan measure of consumer confidence rose to a four-month high of 79.2 in September, from 74.3 in... 14th September 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Focus Will policy stimulus provide a lasting boost to commodity prices? The recent announcements of additional stimulus in the euro-zone, China and the US might prove to be a turning point for the global economy, thus justifying and even extending the recovery in... 14th September 2012 · 1 min read
US Data Response Retail Sales & Industrial Production (Aug.) The main message from August’s retail sales and industrial production data is that economic growth remains subdued, and it could yet get weaker. 14th September 2012 · 1 min read
