HUNGARY - Forecast 18 Oct 2017

Six months ahead of the next regular parliamentary election, the governing Fidesz-KDNP alliance remains on course towards an easy victory, with better-than-equal chances for a constitutional majority in the National Assembly. Amidst conditions of rapid wage and employment growth, there is hardly ...

CHINA FINANCIAL - Report 18 Oct 2017 1 response

​For all the ink that will be spilled on it I think there was nothing in today’s speech by Xi Jinping that is likely to cause anyone to change his mind about China's economic prospects, nor was there ever likely to be. This was meant to be a political speech and to check all the necessary boxes. ...

SOUTH AFRICA - In Brief 18 Oct 2017

Yesterday, in a fairly uncermonious manner, and uncharacteristically during day time, President Zuma introduced his 12th Cabinet reshuffle in 8 years. Mostly, he re-arranged his ministers' portfolios, even some who were appointed a mere 6 months back were moved around. He brought an staunch ...

UKRAINE - In Brief 18 Oct 2017

Political protests on October 17 have impressed the authorities. The downtown of the city was flooded with police and military. And it looks like police exceeded the number of protesters. The very action was predominantly peaceful except for few minor clashes.

Recall the protestors ...

TURKEY - In Brief 16 Oct 2017

The disputed Iraqi city of Kirkuk rapidly fell to Iraqi Army, as Kurdish peshmerga forces withdrew after putting up symbolic resistance. It appears that divisions between deceased national hero Mr. Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) tacitly cooperating with the approaching Iraqi Ar...

UKRAINE - In Brief 16 Oct 2017

Tomorrow, on October 17 there will be a big political action (demonstration) in support of reforms. At least it was advertised as a big one. In fact it will be a critical day for those who still are struggling for changes at the country. Reformation zeal has faded. Elites are returning to ...

BRAZIL POLITICS - Report 16 Oct 2017

The Lower House CCJ is expected to vote on the accusation against President Temer on Thursday, October 19. Portions of Lúcio Funaro’s plea bargain deal revealed by the press could influence discussions. The Senate decides whether to reverse the STF decision that removed Aécio Neves (PSDB) from h...

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - Report 16 Oct 2017

The United Russia party won Moscow’s municipal elections with 67% of the seats in all the assemblies. However, in several small assemblies, opposition candidates also won some seats and even won majorities. All interim governors appointed by the Kremlin throughout 2016-2017 won their regional...

BRAZIL ECONOMICS - Report 16 Oct 2017

Household consumption continues to be the driving force of the current recovery, and as is logical, its tendency is closely accompanied by real retail sales. In August, however, real retail sales in the restricted sense dipped slightly. We believe this movement is temporary and does not change th...

MEXICO - Report 16 Oct 2017 2 responses

Fixed investment has been trending lower this year as both the public and private sectors have scaled back construction expenditures, and spending on machinery and equipment has been lackluster. Machinery and equipment investment are still expanding, but growth rates fail to approach the kind...

MEXICO - Report 16 Oct 2017

Margarita Zavala’s announcement October 6 that she was resigning from the PAN to run as an independent may have shaken up the 2018 campaign. As the PAN’s best known presidential hopeful, Zavala was drawing roughly the same support in polls as her main rival within the PAN, party chairman Ricardo...

BRAZIL ECONOMICS - Report 16 Oct 2017

On the aggregate demand side, the driving force of the economy is the expansion of household consumption, which is being strongly stimulated by monetary policy, in particular the persistently low market real interest rate. That stimulus comes not only from the preference for present over future c...

TURKEY - Report 15 Oct 2017

As the Turko-American visa ban enters its second week, hopes for a compromise are high, but concrete developments are meager. Ankara continues to implicate the American “Deep State” in the July 2016 coup attempt. Escalation of the conflict is unlikely, but the mutual ban appears here to stay. ...

VENEZUELA - In Brief 14 Oct 2017

The importance of these elections comes from its potential effectiveness in heralding change in 2018.

For the first time in chavismo’s history, the opposition is visibly ahead and the government has confessed it: Maduro announced that chavismo would win 10 state governors...

SOUTH AFRICA - In Brief 13 Oct 2017

Today, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruled against President and the National Prosecuting Agency (NPA), declaring that the NPA's decision, back in 2007, to drop the charges of corruption and fraud against the then Deputy President of the ANC, Mr Zuma, was irrational, flawed and illegal. ...