GlobalSource Partners | Country Insights

There is much talk in China these days about a K-shaped economy. Technology is growing rapidly while traditional manufacturing and other parts of the economy are declining. A technology investor from China told me he views this differently. China has an “i”-shaped economy, with technology as the ...

Anti-corruption efforts shifted to a higher gear

HUNGARY · In Brief · 18 Sep 2026

The draft budget for 2027 will be presented to the Fiscal Council, from which point it can be regarded as publicly known, on October 17, PM Magyar said today. For the average citizen, that plan will include good news and bad news alike, but possibly more bad than good, given the conflict between ...

NBU takes another tightening step, raising key policy rate to 16% amid rising inflation pressure

UKRAINE · In Brief · 18 Sep 2026

The NBU Board made one more tightening step, raising the key policy rate by 0.5 pp to 16%, effective from September 18. Inflation accelerated to 8.1% y/y in August, slightly exceeding the NBU forecast, while higher-than-expected fuel prices amid the escalation in the Middle East and intensified R...

Justice Fachin postponed the analysis of the case involving Justice Mendonça, the government announced an increase in Bolsa Família benefits, and Lula will attend the UN General Assembly next week

BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 18 Sep 2026

As expected, Supreme Federal Court (STF) Chief Justice Edson Fachin postponed consideration of the case that would assess Justice André Mendonça’s conduct as rapporteur in the Master and INSS cases. Against the backdrop of continued deterioration in the president’s approval ratings, the governmen...

Political update– September 18, 2026: Netanyahu bloc improves, but no clear path to 61

ISRAEL · Report · 18 Sep 2026

Recent polls show a modest improvement in Netanyahu’s bloc, but neither side currently has a clear path to a 61-seat majority. The shift reflects both a more efficient distribution of votes within the right-wing bloc and some movement at the margins between the two blocs. Winter appears to be att...

GULF WEEKLY: GCC-Iran meeting postponed, Saudi pipeline offline, Bahrain’s FX reserves fall

GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 18 Sep 2026

A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines: * Brent touched $109 midweek as details emerged about damage to Saudi Arabia’s bypass pipeline. * It might return to half flow quickly, but some estimates suggest 6-8 weeks to reach full capacity. * The Houthis held onto th...

Kazakhstan macro: Budget statistics confirm economic growth remains stable

KAZAKHSTAN · Report · 18 Sep 2026

Recent economic data shows that Kazakhstan’s growth rate has steadied at around 5.0%, easing on a y-o-y basis, partly due to a base effect after an unusual growth surge in 2025 that lasted until August last year. In the first eight months of 2025, the short-term indicator, tracking the activity i...

TOPIC OF THE WEEK: Armenia’s export stress test: shock, adaptation or diversion?

CAUCASUS / CENTRAL ASIA · Report · 18 Sep 2026

I had earlier poked fun at Nikol Pashinyan's statement that "If peppers are spoiling, I'll pay for those peppers. If roses are spoiling, I'll pay for them, too." It represented an emotionally-charged outburst that was tied to the restrictions imposed by Russia on a number of Armenian exports in M...

The half empty cup(om)

BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 17 Sep 2026

BCB’s Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) opted once again for a 0.25 percentage point reduction in the Selic target rate, from 14.00% to 13.75% per year, as expected. It also chose to keep the statement that followed the meeting virtually unchanged, itself an indication that it intends to maintain...

The threat of nature

ECUADOR · Report · 17 Sep 2026

Experts from the European School of Political and Social Sciences (ESPOL) forecast there is a 75% probability that the severity of El Niño 2026 will reach the level of that of 1997-1998. In that event, losses amounted to 15% of GDP, affecting mainly productive sectors such as agriculture, livesto...

The STF crisis continues, criticism of the Supreme Court ranked among the highest-engagement content on Brazilian social media, and five presidential polls are expected to be released today

BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 17 Sep 2026

There were strong reactions from both the government and the opposition on the day after the Supreme Federal Court’s (STF) proceedings involving Alexandre de Moraes. On the government side, President Lula said he was outraged by what is happening. The opposition, meanwhile, was unhappy with Just...

How China resolved its bad debt in the 2000s

CHINA FINANCIAL · Report · 17 Sep 2026

Special points to highlight in this report: * To no one’s surprise, domestic demand continued to weaken in August even as manufacturing and exports remained strong. * China plans to solve excess capacity by shifting investment into high-tech industries, but this is unlikely to work...

BIST in the throes of its biggest crisis

TURKEY · Report · 17 Sep 2026

After dropping a whopping 6% in Wednesday’s trading, Borsa Istanbul main index BIST-100 regained its composure Thursday morning, gaining 2% by 11 am . Yet, the scandal that triggered yesterday’s harrowing selloff had not passed. This post, written as of 11 am Turkish time, shares some preliminar...

Russia: a brief market watch

RUSSIA ECONOMICS · In Brief · 17 Sep 2026

A new round of escalation in the Middle East pushed up oil prices, Urals went above $105 per barrel, the first time since May. The latter had helped the USD/RUB to stabilize within the USD/RUB84-85 range. Given the high level of oil price, we expect the overall amount of purchasing of currency by...

Israel’s H1 current account deficit and a technical note on Nvidia and BOP accounting

ISRAEL · In Brief · 17 Sep 2026

Balance of payments data released yesterday showed a USD 0.5bn current account deficit in Q2, following a revised deficit of around USD 0.8bn in Q1. This represents a significant change from 2025, when Israel recorded a current account surplus of around USD 8.9bn. The goods and services balance r...