RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 24 May 2019

On May 18, former President Robert Kocharyan was surprisingly released on bail after spending 5 months in prison on pre-trial. The decision was completely unexpected because only five days before – the day the trial started - Kocharyan based his defence on the lack of legitimacy of the court, as ...

SOUTH AFRICA - Report 23 May 2019

The Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee has once again decided to leave the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 6.75%, leaving the prime rate at 10.25%. The last time the Reserve Bank adjusted the repo rate was in November 2018 when it increased it from 6.50% to the current 6.75%, making th...

CHINA - Report 23 May 2019

Almost all major economic indicators are falling. Industrial output was up 5.4% y/y, back to its low January-February level, after its March rise. Fixed asset investment was up 5.7% y/y in April, down 0.6 pps from Q1. Retail sales of social consumption goods were up 7.2% y/y in nominal terms, ...

SOUTH AFRICA - Report 23 May 2019

The first sitting of the National Assembly took place on 22 May 2019 in Cape Town. This marks South Africa’s sixth democratic Parliament with 358 members officially sworn in by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng. The ruling party ANC (African National Congress) acquired 230 seats while the main opposi...

UKRAINE - In Brief 23 May 2019

We wrote that the Ukrainian establishment is disoriented. We were wrong. Alena Shkrum, MP from Batkivshchyna party wrote that parliament is in hysterics. Whatever is the format of elections – majoritarian vote or the party lists – Zelenskiy takes the majority. Collecting 226 seats through the par...

CHINA FINANCIAL - Report 23 May 2019

Special points to highlight in this issue: * The mood changed dramatically in China last week, with Beijing now angrily criticizing Washington for its role in the trade negotiations. * Beijing’s change of strategy should be seen primarily within a domestic political context. President X...

CHINA ADVISORY - Report 22 May 2019

The RMB is supported by Chinese capital “round-tripping” Inward capital flows have been encouraged by Beijing through a variety of policies. These inward flows have helped to support the strength of the RMB. However, our interviews suggest the majority of this capital is, in fact, institutiona...

UKRAINE - In Brief 22 May 2019

Parliament rejected to approve amendments to electoral law Volodymyr Zelenskiy proposed (proportional list instead of majoritarian vote and reduction of entry barrier down to 3% from 5% currently). The initiative was not even included to the agenda. Today it was time for Speaker of the parliament...

INDIA - In Brief 22 May 2019

In previous reports, we have been watching the distance-to-default (DtD) of large private financial firms. Using data for 10 May, we had found that there were 3 large private banks (Federal Bank, IDFC First Bank, Yes Bank) and 6 large private NBFCs (Shriram Transport Finance, Edelweiss Financial,...

UKRAINE - In Brief 21 May 2019 1 response

Andrey Bohdan, lawyer of Ihor Kolomoyskiy was appointed head of the president office. Mixed feelings about this decision. Definately bad signal for the IMF in the context of Privatbank issues. However, me personally, i had a positive impression from his interview he gave to journalists after firs...

UKRAINE - In Brief 21 May 2019 1 response

Events are developing extremely fast. After consultations with Volodymyr Zelenskiy leaders of parliamentary factions reported today that early parliamentary elections will be on July 21. On the top of that MPs reported about an agreement to change election law and to cancel majoritarian votes. In...

MEXICO - Report 20 May 2019

Since international ratings agencies began downgrading Pemex debt late last year, the government has appeared to be flaying about in its efforts to placate critics, piling errors on top of contradictions and leaving the oil company even more vulnerable and devoid of prospects for improving condit...

MEXICO - Report 20 May 2019

The Mexican Congress passed a broad reform of the country’s labor laws a month ago, perhaps the most significant institutional change introduced in the less than six months the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has been in office. The reform undoubtedly brings positive chang...

BRAZIL POLITICS - Report 20 May 2019 1 response

This is a crucial week for the government in the Lower House, with nine provisional measures on the agenda that risk expiring if they are not voted upon, including the regulatory framework for sanitation (PM 868/18) and the reorganization of the Executive branch (PM 870/19). The government releas...

CENTRAL AMERICA - Report 20 May 2019

In Costa Rica, President Carlos Alvarado stated in his first “state of the country” address on May 2nd that the country had been on the brink of a fiscal crisis in H2 2018, but that timely decisions by the executive branch and Congress -- in particular, passage of a fiscal reform law -- had put C...