Europe Commercial Property Update Bond sell-off adds to concerns for Spanish and Italian property prices To the extent that the latest sell-off in Spanish and Italian bonds prompts investors to steer clear of commercial property in either market, the resultant drop in liquidity is likely to put upwards... 11th April 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus Why Brazil's property boom looks like a bubble There are several reasons why we would have expected to have seen a sharp rise in Brazilian house prices over the past five years. But even so the sheer scale of the recent jump in prices is difficult... 11th April 2012 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Are markets heading for a repeat of 2011? The recent slump in global equities is prompting comparisons with 2011, when the prices of riskier assets also fell away after a confident start. Our view is that the US economy will be more resilient... 11th April 2012 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Are markets heading for a repeat of 2011? The recent slump in global equities is prompting comparisons with 2011, when the prices of riskier assets also fell away after a confident start. Our view is that the US economy will be more resilient... 11th April 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkish rebalancing: so far, so good but much further to go February’s current account data show that the rebalancing of the Turkish economy is progressing more smoothly than we had feared. At its current rate of progress, it will still take another 18 months... 11th April 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update What does our new oil price forecast mean for the Gulf? On the back of a brighter outlook for the US economy and concerns over supply, we have nudged up our forecast for Brent crude prices to end the year at $95 per barrel ($85pb previously). Although this... 11th April 2012 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Machinery Orders (Feb.) The unexpected jump in core machinery orders in February is clearly welcome but, contrary to many of the headlines this morning, it does not signal a strong recovery in Japan’s capital spending. 11th April 2012 · 1 min read
UK Commercial Property Update Rental values - are comparisons with the 1990s relevant? The stagnation of commercial property rents over the past two years is similar to the experience of the mid-1990s. But while the earlier episode laid the foundations for a sustained recovery, a repeat... 11th April 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Outlook Another difficult year for the housing market Falling economic output, rising unemployment and fragile consumer confidence will all do their bit to undermine house prices this year. But while housing is still overvalued, low interest rates and... 11th April 2012 · 1 min read
China Data Response NBS business conditions survey (Q1) The results of China’s largest quarterly business survey, released today, reinforce the view that economic activity weakened in Q1, but also suggest that many firms have turned more positive about the... 10th April 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Supply shortages already priced into corn and soybean Global soybean production estimates published by the United States Department for Agriculture (USDA) were revised down today, but by no more than already anticipated by the market. However... 10th April 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Saudi Arabia Consumer Prices (Mar.) Saudi Arabia’s headline inflation remained unchanged in March as a rise in food inflation was offset by a drop in housing (rent and utilities) inflation. 10th April 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Egypt Consumer Prices (Mar.) Egypt’s headline inflation dropped slightly in March as a fall in food inflation helped to offset a record rise in housing and utilities inflation. The latter contributed to a jump in core inflation... 10th April 2012 · 1 min read
Global Economics Focus What are Argentina's lessons for the euro-zone? Argentina’s experience after the collapse of the peso ten years ago supports the view that Greece, and perhaps other peripheral economies, would ultimately be better off leaving the euro-zone rather... 10th April 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Vietnam cuts rates again, more policy loosening likely The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) today announced that it would be cutting interest rates by a further 100bp on Wednesday. The cut in interest rates, the second in as many months, comes amid recent... 10th April 2012 · 1 min read
