GlobalSource Partners | Country Insights

The big relief is nothing bad happened at the Xi and Trump summit May 14 and 15 in Beijing. However, Xi did appear the victor. He made modest but not large commitments to purchase U.S. goods. Trump failed to declare U.S. support for Taiwan, and the president’s overall behavior toward Xi was highl...

Tisza has taken over in a normal way, with no disruptions

HUNGARY · Report · 21 May 2026

Tisza had set up its government cabinet and taken over the administration by early May, which represents record high speed historically. No extraordinary events or disruptions occurred, despite earlier widespread fears that Fidesz could hesitate to transfer power. However, Tisza’s takeover has...

Lula takes the lead in latest poll, the Senate received the report on the PEC that expands the autonomy of the Central Bank, and the debate over the 6x1 work schedule continues

BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 21 May 2026

Another Vox poll on the presidential election was released yesterday. Lula leads both the first- and second-round simulations. In the first round, the president posts 41.5%, while Flavio Bolsonaro has 31.1%. Ronaldo Caiado (PSD) stands at 5.9% and Romeu Zema (Novo) at 4.1%. Yesterday, the Constit...

The Trump-Xi summit did nothing except create breathing space

CHINA FINANCIAL · Report · 21 May 2026

Special points to highlight in this report: - The Trump-Xi summit last week accomplished nothing substantial except possibly to allow each side an extra 2-3 years in resolving its domestic problems. But because problems in the US economy require the opposite solutions to problems in the Chine...

Bi-Weekly Economic News Summary

KAZAKHSTAN · In Brief · 21 May 2026

May 8 National Railways: Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (National Railways) plans to place three issues of CNY-denominated bonds totaling CNY 1.79 bln. National gas company: QazaqGaz placed 10Y Eurobonds worth $700 mln at 5.625%. May 11 Turkey: The Turkish President, Mr. Erdogan, will visit Kazakhstan on...

Outlook for the Gulf after 12 weeks of war - Webinar replay and slide presentation

GULF COUNTRIES · Presentation · 20 May 2026

The GCC is experiencing perhaps the greatest crisis since its creation. Can the war's impact on credit continue to be mitigated? How is the war reshaping the GCC's geopolitics? What impact will the UAE's exit from OPEC have? Get insight into the economic impact to date, key risks and how ...

Flávio Bolsonaro visited Vorcaro when he was arrested, Lula continues to try to improve his approval ratings, and the report on the 6x1 work schedule should be submitted next week

BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 20 May 2026

Yesterday, new information involving Senator Flavio Bolsonaro and former banker Daniel Vorcaro was made public. According to the news outlet Metrópoles, Flavio visited Vorcaro after the former banker’s arrest late last year. Meanwhile, Lula continues to announce measures aimed at improving his ap...

Kast on the Defensive

CHILE · In Brief · 20 May 2026

President José Antonio Kast entered office two months ago with a very clear remit: restore security and regain control of migration. He promised that after years of political volatility, Chile would get order. Perhaps even become boring. Yesterday’s departure of Security Minister Trinidad Steiner...

The first poll since Flávio Bolsonaro’s leaked audio recordings has been published, Lula will launch a program to help finance vehicles, and discussions on the 6x1 work schedule continue

BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 19 May 2026

The first AtlasIntel presidential polling data since the release of audio recordings involving Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) and banker Daniel Vorcaro has just been released. Flávio Bolsonaro dropped six percentage points and now holds 41.8% of voter intentions against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva...

Presidential run-off set for June 7; real GDP grew only 3.2% in March; fiscal risks balloon in 2026; inflation accelerates to 4%, but BCRP happy with policy pause

PERU · Report · 19 May 2026

We discuss three topics in this report. First, we evaluate the electoral process, and the start of the presidential run-off election between Keiko Fujimori (KF) and Roberto Sánchez (RS) set for June 7. Next, we focus on the economy, and find it has begun a mild deceleration. We made an above-cons...

Economics: Demand-side components (consumption and investment) are consistent with first-quarter GDP stagnation

MEXICO · Report · 19 May 2026

Mexico's economy entered 2026 on a weak footing, with first-quarter GDP virtually stagnant at 0.2% year-on-year growth. While the government has attributed the poor performance primarily to external factors, the data point to significant domestic demand weaknesses running alongside sectoral disru...

Politics: The 4T's education disaster laid bare

MEXICO · Report · 18 May 2026

Mexico's education system has suffered a marked deterioration under the administrations of López Obrador and Claudia Sheinbaum. A recent incident encapsulates the broader dysfunction: Education Secretary Mario Delgado announced the abrupt early end of the 2025–2026 school year, claiming unanimou...

Weekly report, May 18, 2026: Early elections move closer, April CPI in line, and Q1 GDP better than expected; market focus shifts to the Bank of Israel rate decision

ISRAEL · Report · 18 May 2026

Key developments and outlook: - The main political development this week was the growing likelihood of early Knesset elections in September, after coalition parties submitted a bill to dissolve the Knesset amid rising dissatisfaction among ultra-Orthodox parties over delays in military conscr...

Flávio under pressure and other weekly topics

BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 18 May 2026

The rapporteur of the bill addressing the end of the 6x1 work schedule, Congressman Leo Prates (Republicanos-BA), is set to present his report before the Lower House Special Committee. In the Senate, Senate President Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP) may move forward with the rare earths bill and the Pu...

The weight of inertia

BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 18 May 2026

The inflation scenario has been marked by both the oil shock, which pushed up inflation expectations even at longer horizons, and resilient economic activity featuring a still tight labor market. Meanwhile, by extending the horizon for inflation convergence to the target, the Central Bank has con...