NEWS FLASH

UPCOMING WEBINAR - TURKEY: FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE OR BUSINESS AS USUAL?...

​Mind the S-400s!
TURKEY · In Brief · 04 Apr 2019 · 1 response

It isnot only the recount of votes in Istanbul and now in Ankara that investors should watch closely to judge Erdogan’s future course of action and market response, but rapidly escalating S-400 tensions, too.The twin troubles are juxtaposed on a very shaky currency defended by rapidly evaporating...

Presidential Debates at the National Olympic Stadium
UKRAINE · In Brief · 04 Apr 2019

As soon as exit-polls were released on Sunday, there has unfolded a discussion whether Zelenskiy will go to the debate or will skip them.The point is that the presidential race frontrunner Volodymyr Zelenskiy appeared to be a poor public speaker. It was a shocking finding for many Ukrainians. Peo...

Nazarbayev resigns while retaining power: looking ahead
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · Report · 03 Apr 2019

On March 19, Nursultan Nazarbayev announced on TV his resignation from the position of President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Kassym-Jomart Tokaev, speaker of the Senate, will temporarily fulfill the functions of the President. Tokaev’s previous position, second in the Constitutional hierarchy,...

Duterte orders contracts review
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 03 Apr 2019

President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to review contracts entered into by the government with the private sector and foreign governments has met with no small amount of unease not only among its private sector partners in infrastructure projects but also among those worried about its impact on percep...

​March inflation print: more of the same
TURKEY · Report · 03 Apr 2019

Consumer prices rose by 1%, m/m, in March, broadly in line with the consensus, with the 12-month CPI inflation hence remaining flat at some 19.7%. Twelve-month domestic-PPI inflation was also unchanged, at 29.6%, with both indicators, as well as the spread between the two -- at around 10 percenta...

Prospects for a Zelenskiy presidency
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 03 Apr 2019

Zelenskiy looks like he is heading for victory in the second round of elections. Yulia Tymoshenko surprised some by refusing to endorse either candidate now that she has been knocked out of the election. Some expected her to give her backing to Zelenskiy. Markets have reacted positively to the li...

Another tiny MNB step in the tightening direction
HUNGARY · In Brief · 02 Apr 2019

Following a 10 bps increase in the O/N deposit rate from March 27, the MNB carried out its second small step on its road towards monetary tightening yesterday. This was a HUF10bn reduction of the outstanding stock of FX swaps, to HUF1979bn, from April 3 as the value date.As well known to the read...

Conference Call: Turkey's political trajectory after the elections: Is it the elections or the S-400’s?
TURKEY · Presentation · 02 Apr 2019

A conference call by Atilla Yesilada on Turkey's political trajectory after the elections: Is it the elections or the S-400’s? How will the outcome of the municipal elections in Turkey determine the country’s monetary policy and path of the currency going forward? Will the political crisis invol...

​What now?
TURKEY · In Brief · 02 Apr 2019 · 1 response

Assuming Istanbul stays in CHP hands, I now declare CHP-IYIP alliance the victor of the local elections.This declaration is not about my perception of the result, but how I think the rank and file of AKP would read it.As I have said several times before, Turkish politics is about cronyism and pat...

JEP-XIT
COLOMBIA · Report · 01 Apr 2019

President Iván Duque’s objection to six articles of the Special Peace Jurisdiction (JEP) Act has created a Brexit moment for Colombia. Duque had two alternatives: first, even if he disliked the peace agreement, he could have accepted it, and have tried to impose the rule of law. This would have “...

GUATEMALA: All eyes on a crowded field
CENTRAL AMERICA · Report · 01 Apr 2019

Guatemala. Elections and expectations for the new presidency will be the main focus in Guatemala this year.The first round of voting, which could include as many as 24 candidates, is set for June 16th. If no candidate wins 50% of the vote, plus 1 vote more, there’ll a runoff on August 11th. The n...

Monetary Policy: Serenity Signal
BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 01 Apr 2019

For some time now, the Central Bank has been warning of the risks of frustration of the reforms needed for fiscal consolidation and deterioration of the external scenario. Last week, the tension between the executive and legislative branches raised doubts about the magnitude of the pension reform...

Economics: March economic data pointing south
MEXICO · Report · 01 Apr 2019

During the third month of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s time in office the economic news remained mixed, but overall, disappointing and negative numbers predominated, including leading indicators. The coincident index and readings of consumption and investment all pointed to a slowing o...

Politics: Limits to AMLO’s vast public support
MEXICO · Report · 01 Apr 2019

Three months into his administration, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has further grown his approval ratings (up 7pp since December, to 64%) even as those disapproving climbed from a fifth to a fourth of voters. People remain generally optimistic about the government, although slightly less...

Pension reform back on track and other weekly topics
BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 01 Apr 2019

Bolsonaro returns from his trip to Israel on April 3. Also on April 3, Paulo Guedes speaks at public hearing in the Lower House CCJ. In the Senate, bill that annuls the presidential decree removing visa requirements for tourists from Australia, Canada, USA and Japan may be voted upon, along with ...