Services

NEWS FLASH

UPCOMING WEBINAR - CAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA: ECONOMIC UPSWINGS AND POL...

Learn More

COUNTRY INSIGHTS

Today’s 25 bps cut brings the South African Reserve Bank’s total interest rate cuts in 2020 to 300 bps
SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 23 Jul 2020

The Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee again voted to cut interest rates today by 25 basis points following their scheduled July meeting, which puts the repo rate at 3.5% and the prime rate at 7%. This follows the Bank's repo rate cut of 50 bps in May. Cumulatively, this places the Reserve ...

Essential CIS Politics: July 2020
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · Report · 23 Jul 2020

* A referendum in Russia approved over 200 constitutional amendments. Crucially, one of them allows Putin to seek two more presidential terms. * Russia has emerged almost fully from lockdown and is open to tourism but there is little sign of an economic rebound. * Kazakhstan was ...

​Optimism on inflation outlook maintained
TURKEY · Report · 23 Jul 2020

At today's meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) left the one-week repo rate unchanged at 8.25%, in line with the overwhelming consensus in that direction. To recall, this is the second consecutive meeting that the MPC stayed on hold (see chart), a decision that seems driven by the worse-t...

The Finance Ministry lowered its GDP forecast for this year
HUNGARY · In Brief · 23 Jul 2020

Speaking in a radio interview on Kossuth Rádió this morning, finance minister Varga said this morning that GDP is likely to fall by an average 5% in volume terms this year, instead of the government's previous expectation of -3%, which now seems too optimistic. This would follow the previously an...

The NBU leaves prime rate unchanged at 6%
UKRAINE · In Brief · 23 Jul 2020

The NBU Board left prime rate unchanged at 6% today. The decision was made despite new Head of the NBU Kyrylo Shevchenko stated few days ago that the NBU should continue further prime rate cuts for the sake of cheaper loans for economy. At the press-release the NBU mentioned that “This [decision]...

Plan to slash spending
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 23 Jul 2020

On July 21 it was reported in RBK that the Finance Ministry aims to reduce government spending by a drastic 10% in 2021. The objective is to return the country to fiscal health after the deficit soared due to coronavirus and low oil prices. The aim is to slash USD 65 billion from the budget 2021-...

Congress finds the government’s Tax Reform proposal limited in scope
BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 22 Jul 2020

The Minister of the Economy, Paulo Guedes, submitted the government’s Tax Reform proposal to Congress yesterday. According to media reports, legislators support more ambitious measures and consider the proposal limited in scope. Despite the reactions of some congressmen, the submission of the...

Russian anti-corruption organisation shut down
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 22 Jul 2020

On July 20 the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) dissolved itself. FBK lost a lawsuit against Yevgeny Prigozhin. Prigozhin is a confidante of Putin's and he is said to be behind the Internet Research Agency which is widely suspected of meddling in foreign elections.In 2019 FBK said that Prigozhin'...

Details of the Tax Reform proposal finally delivered to Congress
BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 22 Jul 2020

The government sent the first Tax Reform proposal to Congress yesterday, July 21. This first phase includes the unification of the PIS and Cofins taxes, creating the Social Contribution on Operations with Goods and Services – CBS. The second phase includes changes to the income tax for individual...

The stick for now
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 22 Jul 2020

President Rodrigo Duterte has found himself caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, covid-19 cases are rising, with data from the DOH showing the 7-day average positivity rate for daily tests close to 12% compared with a little over 6% a month ago and with experts estimating the ...

US likely to impose more sanctions on Nord Stream 2
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 22 Jul 2020

On July 20 the House of Representatives passed a bill to put more sanctions on the companies involved in building a 1230 km gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. The pipeline is being completed under Danish territorial waters. The sanctions would be an amendment pursuant to the National Defense Au...

The government´s Tax Reform proposal reaches Congress
BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 21 Jul 2020

The Minister of the Economy, Paulo Guedes, submitted the government’s Tax Reform proposal to the National Congress. The bill was sent to the president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (DEM-AP). The first stage of analysis will deal only with the unification of the PIS and Cofins taxes. Thus, more c...

The 10% solution: fiddling with Chile's pensions
CHILE · Report · 21 Jul 2020 · 2 responses

The House of Deputies last week passed a bill that would allow some Chileans to withdraw 10% of their AFP savings. The approval of the measure, which is intended to provide further relief to those suffering from the economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis, was met with indecorous scenes of c...

Today's Monetary Council action went exactly as expected
HUNGARY · In Brief · 21 Jul 2020

At its regular monthly rate-setting meeting, the Council acted exactly matching the preliminary indications from vice governor Virág earlier this month. It reduced the base rate by another 0.15%-point to 0.6%, while strongly suggesting that it would not continue to lower the rate further. Specifi...

​The Government declared the State of Emergency, again
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC · In Brief · 21 Jul 2020

The deterioration of the sanitary situation due to COVID-19 in July forced the Government to request Congress authorization to declare, once again, a State of Emergency. Last Sunday, the Congress passed the authorization and on Monday the President signed the decree. The declaration will be in fo...

Copyright 2024 GlobalSource Partners. All rights reserved.