Latin America Economics Update Chilean economy not yet out of the woods As the most open and commodity-dependent of the major Latin American economies, Chile benefited from an improvement in global conditions in Q1. The road ahead will not be a smooth one however and, if... 5th April 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Focus Are mortgage lending standards easing? There’s no doubt that mortgage lending standards remain tight. But there are some tentative signs that banks might be becoming a bit more willing to lend. This is a crucial development that will... 5th April 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Evaluating Hungary’s Early FX Repayment Scheme The introduction of Hungary’s early FX mortgage repayment scheme last September was one in a chain of events that severely dented market confidence in local policymaking and sent the economy to the... 5th April 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Industrial Production (Feb.) Germany’s February industrial production figures brought further signs that the former engine of the euro-zone economic recovery has gone sharply into reverse. 5th April 2012 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update More QE in May still in the balance Today’s decision by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to stay the course and complete the previously authorised asset purchases was always likely, given the pattern of past QE decisions. While the... 5th April 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update YPF just another scapegoat for failures of Argentine model Rumours that Argentina’s largest energy company, YPF, is on the brink of being nationalised have seen the company’s share price plummet and sovereign risk premia spike over the past few days. Not only... 5th April 2012 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Industrial Production (Feb.) February’s industrial production figures put something of dent in hopes that a recovery in manufacturing would help to rebalance the economy and help overall GDP to post a decent expansion in the... 5th April 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Focus Egypt devaluation: causes and likely consequences We think that a devaluation of the Egyptian pound is more likely than not, even if the government reaches an agreement with the IMF this month. The pound appears to be overvalued by around 15% to 25%... 5th April 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Polish policymakers turn hawkish Polish policymakers left interest rates unchanged this afternoon, but Governor Belka’s subsequent remarks that the MPC were “seriously” considering raising rates has triggered a sell-off in the bond... 4th April 2012 · 1 min read
Bank of Japan Watch Further easing coming, just not yet The Bank of Japan’s Policy Board two-day meeting, which concludes on Tuesday (10th), has been made more interesting by two recent developments: the disappointingly weak Tankan survey and another spike... 4th April 2012 · 1 min read
China Economics Update What does the increase in QFII and RQFII quotas mean? The increase in the amount of funds foreign investors are allowed to invest in China’s financial markets is the latest in a series of steps that relax controls on cross-border capital flows. The move... 4th April 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB keeps the onus on governments The European Central Bank (ECB) hinted today that it might not be prepared to provide much more policy support and hence kept the onus firmly on governments to address the euro-zone crisis. 4th April 2012 · 1 min read
US Economics Focus Could a surge in dividends boost the economy? If other firms follow Apple's lead in paying an annual dividend then, given the amount of stockpiled cash that the corporate sector is currently hoarding, the resulting boost to personal income and... 4th April 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response CoreLogic House Prices (Feb.) Coming hot on the heels of the slightly more encouraging mortgage applications numbers released this morning, the small rise in the CoreLogic measure of house prices in February is another sign that... 4th April 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Weak service sector putting the brakes on euro-zone office rent growth This morning’s PMI data suggest that business activity in the euro-zone’s service sector remains subdued. And if the past relationships between employment PMIs and office rental value growth continue... 4th April 2012 · 1 min read
