GlobalSource Partners | Country Insights

Economic activity growth declined in Q2. GDP expansion reached 3.7%, compared with Q2 2018, and notably below the 5.7% observed in Q1. The result for H1 was growth of 4.7%. There is a broad consensus that political uncertainty has been the main cause for this slowdown. In July IMAE growth rebound...

Private companies might be allowed to operate in the Russian Arctic

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 04 Sep 2019

On September 4 the Russian Government announced that it may permit private companies to work in the Arctic providing services to oil and gas companies. The oil and gas sector in the Arctic is still all state sector. The announcement was made at an economic forum held in Vladivostok on Russia's Pa...

Russian court orders seizure of stake in Vostochny Bank

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 04 Sep 2019

Private equity company Baring Vostok's stake in Vostochny Bank has been seized by court order. 334 billion shares controlled by Baring Vostok have been taken. The Arbitration Court of Amur Region gave the order. The court's rationale was that Baring Vostok must be prevented from selling the share...

Economics: Signs of an Economy Stalling

MEXICO · Report · 03 Sep 2019

At the beginning of the month some observers were slightly relieved to hear that the preliminary reading of second quarter GDP showed some growth on a seasonally adjusted basis compared both to the first quarter of 2019 and the April through June period of 2018. But at month’s end Inegi released ...

Over the hump?

PHILIPPINES · Forecast · 03 Sep 2019

Domestic economic growth has slowed, and external clouds are gathering. Can GDP growth rebound to above 6%? The next 18 months will depend upon greater accommodation from fiscal and monetary policies, as well as more clarity in government reform efforts to counter the many downside risks. An...

From Macri’s failed political strategy to Fernández’s wishful economic thinking

ARGENTINA · Report · 03 Sep 2019

Since he lost the August 12th primary, President Mauricio Macri’s policies have changed drastically: he’s been forced to implement measures suggested by his victorious challenger, Alberto Fernández, who is now on track to win the Oct. 27th general election to become the country’s next president. ...

All set now for a substantial rate cut

TURKEY · In Brief · 03 Sep 2019 · 1 response

Consumer price inflation came in at 0.86%, m/m, in August, which was notably lower than the consensus and our forecast of 1.3%. As a result, 12-month rate declined more than expected to 15% from 16.6% in July. Likewise, producer prices fell in the month by 0.6%, taking the 12-month rate sharply l...

The South African economy bounces back, narrowly avoids another H1 technical recession in just two years

SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 03 Sep 2019

Similar to the past year, the country once again waited to find out if South Africa’s economy was in a technical recession in the first half of the year, which would have made it the second consecutive one. The past year’s results had indeed indicated that the country had experienced a technical ...

Politics: What the next Congress may bring

MEXICO · Report · 02 Sep 2019

With President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Party together with its allies wielding a qualified majority in the Chamber of Deputies and just shy of one in the Senate as the new session of Congress gets underway, their legislative agenda becomes de facto that of the entire Congress. And judging b...

Reintroduction of capital controls

ARGENTINA · In Brief · 02 Sep 2019 · 2 responses

The debt rescheduling announcements of last week, as might have been expected, did little to calm markets anxiety and, on the contrary, acted as a coordination signal to spur capital flight, forcing the BCRA to continue selling reserves to keep the dollar value in check.Also, bank withdrawals of ...

The Amazon ordeal and other weekly topics

BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 02 Sep 2019

The Amazon remains on the political agenda. President Jair Bolsonaro takes part in a meeting in Colombia with countries of the Amazon Region. Thursday is the deadline for Bolsonaro to sanction the bill on Abuse of Authority. The Senate CCJ votes the Pension Reform report. Senate may vote tran...

China and Russia proximity and regional pre-eminence via the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · Report · 02 Sep 2019

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has promoted the creation of a series of regional international intergovernmental organizations to keep as many former Soviet Republics as possible close to Moscow. The CIS, the Eurasian Economic Union or the CSTO are among the best known examples of thi...

Synthesis of the Brazilian Economy

BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 02 Sep 2019

The “Bolsonaro style” of governing has been clearly revealed to the world by the fires that are multiplying in the Amazon: he started by confronting and accusing his critics of responsibility, but when faced by threats of commercial retaliation he did what he should have done from the outset, ord...

Colombian guerrillas add pressure to critical Venezuela talks

VENEZUELA · In Brief · 02 Sep 2019

The resurgence of the Colombian guerrilla announced on Thursday 29 August by two of its former leaders, Iván Márquez and Jesús Santrich, is raising tensions in Venezuela as well as Colombia. Márquez and Santrich lead a group of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) dissidents who, in numb...

Consumer saves the quarter, relatively speaking

TURKEY · In Brief · 02 Sep 2019

The Turkish economy contracted by 1.5%, y/y, in the second quarter of the year (1.4%, WDA), which was less steep than both the consensus and our forecast had it. As a corollary, quarterly (or sequential) growth, at 1.2%, was also markedly better than our forecast (Graph 1). The key driver of our ...