ISRAEL - In Brief 21 Sep 2020

Highlights of the Weekly Israel Macro Wrap Up 21.9.20 Inflation surprises on the downside Inflation remained stable m/m in August below market expectations of 0.2% m/m. Inflation in August declined to -0.8% y/y (from -0.6% in July). Core inflation move lower to -0.5% y/y (from -0.4% in July). Eig...

TURKEY - Report 20 Sep 2020

Going deeply against the grain, we call only for minor sanctions from the EU at the upcoming Leaders’ Summit on September 26th, maintaining our view that short of a Biden Presidency, foreign policy shocks are very likely to be too mild, compared to the domestic political-cum-economic ones. Yet, w...

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 19 Sep 2020

On September 18 the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) decided not to cut the interest rate. There have been several successive cuts over the past two years. Inflation increased surprisingly on Q3 2020 and the RUB fell. These moves may have promoted the September 18 decision. The Governor of the CBR sa...

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 19 Sep 2020

On September 17 Lukashenka announced that borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia would be closed because of interference with Belarus' affairs. In fact this has not happened. However, the border has been strengthened. It is rumored that Lukashenka's favorite son Nikolai, 16, has been sent to s...

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 18 Sep 2020

On September 18 Ozodlik published an article saying that cabinet sources revealed that six major industrial and energy companies have been transferred to the trust of SFI Management Group. SFI Management Group is owned by Alisher Usmanov who is a Russian-Uzbek oligarch.Usmanov said that the compa...

BRAZIL POLITICS - Report 18 Sep 2020

The increase in unemployment lines and the accumulation of lawsuits at the National Institute of Social Security (INSS), a consequence of specialty doctors who refuse to return to in-person work, are putting pressure on the government in the social arena. Today, the Institute of Brazilian Geograp...

RUSSIA ECONOMICS - In Brief 18 Sep 2020

Rosstat reported that in August, the economic recovery continued across the board, albeit slowly. Most of the indicators looked better y-o-y than in July, especially taking into account that this year August had fewer working days than a year ago. Some previous data have been revised up slightly,...

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 18 Sep 2020

Two Russian manufactured coronavirus drugs have been licensed for sale in drug stores on September 17. Both of them are version of favirpirvir which was originally an anti-flu medicine invented in Japan. The drugs are in pill form. Trials prove that recovery times are speedy. India and China have...

GULF COUNTRIES - Report 18 Sep 2020 1 response

A skimmable summary of key developments overlaid with our analysis and links to further information. Headlines include: * Bahrain and UAE signed normalization agreements with Israel in Washington. * We do not expect any other Gulf states to follow imminently, for differing reasons. * Coronav...

HUNGARY - Report 18 Sep 2020

Following the European trend, Covid-19 cases have picked up sharply since late August. Much of this can be blamed on increased virus testing, but that cannot explain a great part of the problem. Indeed, the hit ratio of testing has risen back to the record levels seen in Q2 and continues to rise....

ARGENTINA - Report 18 Sep 2020

​A climate of dialogue and cooperation among the main political forces in March allowed the harnessing of support from a large majority of the population, to implement lockdowns that helped dampen the pace of infections and deaths. This early action allowed time to reinforce the health care syst...

CENTRAL AMERICA - Report 18 Sep 2020

The government announced an ambitious proposal to achieve an extended facility agreement with the IMF in order to bring back the debt to a sustainable path. The proposal, which includes the effects of the fiscal reform approved in December 2018, consists of a mix of temporary and permanent action...

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - In Brief 17 Sep 2020

The Dominican Republic has just launched sovereign bonds equivalent to USD3.8 bn. The total amount is distributed in: 1) USD1.8 bn corresponding to 12-year bonds to yield 4.875%; 2) USD1.7 bn corresponding to bonds maturing in 2060 to yield 6.250%; and 3)DOP17.5 bn, equivalent to USD300 correspon...

SOUTH AFRICA - Report 17 Sep 2020

Following consecutive interest rate cuts during each meeting since the beginning of 2020 (including during a previously unscheduled meeting in April), the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) left the repo rate unchanged today at 3.5%. The last cut in the benchmark ...

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - Report 17 Sep 2020

On August 9 a presidential election was held in Belarus. The Electoral Commission declared that President Lukashenka had won his sixth consecutive election with 80% of the vote. The president has been in office since 1994. The 66-year-old has no intention of resigning. Although Lukashenka is u...