MEXICO - Report 29 Jul 2019

From the moment he took office, the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has been especially outspoken in its denunciations of autonomous bodies, especially those that are mainly focused on economic matters. The energy regulatory and federal competition commissions have received th...

BRAZIL ECONOMICS - Report 29 Jul 2019

As the economy is virtually stagnant and inflation (current and expected) is significantly below the target, this week the Central Bank will start a new monetary easing cycle. Credit is an important channel for transmission of monetary policy, and it has been showing some growth, which together w...

ISRAEL - Report 29 Jul 2019

Highlights: The shekel appreciated by 0.8% last week (against the basket). * We think the shekel has strengthened in part due to the divergence of monetary policies, with the BoI still projecting a tightening bias while most other central banks are reducing rates. * The shekel ha...

PERU - In Brief 28 Jul 2019

A few hours ago, president Martin Vizcarra delivered the customary July 28thspeech before Congress where as usual he enumerated his government´s achievements during the last 12 months. However, towards the end of his presentation the President explained that the Executive Branch proposals for a p...

TURKEY - Forecast 28 Jul 2019

Fed’s dovish pivot, ‘constructive ambiguity’ around the S-400 tensions between Turkey and the US, and last but certainly not least, the usual market complacency gave Turkish assets a fairly unexpected boost lately. Since our last quarterly report (of May 10, 2019), Turkey’s risk premium (CDS) has...

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 28 Jul 2019

On July 25 it was announced that Sberbank and Mail.ru are setting up a joint venture. The agreement is due to be signed in the fall. It will then need to be approved by regulators so there is a small chance that this JV will not go ahead. It will be a platform for online to offline services in tr...

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - Report 27 Jul 2019

Protests have returned – albeit modestly – to Moscow’s streets during the last two weeks. They have not attracted much international attention because of their relatively low numbers (a couple of thousand attended on July 14). However, as the authorities failed to control protesters, on July 22 a...

PHILIPPINES - Report 26 Jul 2019

GlobalSource Partners hosted a conference call on July 24, 2019, featuring Philippine Country Analyst Romeo Bernardo. This report is a transcript of his remarks on the call, which shed light on the dynamics of the economy and provided perspective on the country's macro and political prospects. Th...

RUSSIA ECONOMICS - In Brief 26 Jul 2019

At today's meeting, CBR cut the rate by 25 b.p., as it was expected. Inflation is slowing and CBR expects to reach 4% target in early 2020. Main factors attributing to the rapid decline in inflation are weak consumer demand, strengthening of the RUB, lower prices for fruits and vegetables. At the...

HUNGARY - In Brief 26 Jul 2019

The lack of any tightening measure and a further little change in the statement's language towards a more relaxed mode at Tuesday's (July 23) rate-setting meeting, combined with the ECB's softening tone yesterday, have pushed the forint to slightly weaker levels, to EURHUF 326.5 and USDHUF 293.2 ...

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 26 Jul 2019

On July 24 it was announced that the Russian Parliament is seeking to create a database of all people in Russia. The database will reveal family connections. It is to be launched in 2022 and completed in 2025. The ostensible ground for doing this is that it will facilitate tax collection. However...

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 25 Jul 2019

South Korea accused Russian warplanes of violating its airspace on July 24. The South Korean Air Force claimed to have fired warning shots at the Russian jets. Moscow vehemently denied any such incident took place. The Russian Air Force was certainly conducting a joint exercise with the Chinese i...

SOUTH AFRICA - Forecast 25 Jul 2019

* South Africa’s growth: President Ramaphosa’s number one priority is to stimulate the South African economy, an economy that has been in the doldrums, growing by less than 2% in the past five years. This is especially important as some of the country’s main socio-economic scourges have either...

TURKEY - In Brief 25 Jul 2019

As our economics guru Dr Murat Ucer is in transit, his acolyte Atilla Yesilada is reporting on CBRT MPC decision. It may have surprised the participants in sundry polls which anticipated 200-250 basis point rate cut, but didn’t surprise us (we penciled in 300-350, with an upside bias), when CBRT ...

GULF COUNTRIES - In Brief 25 Jul 2019

After months of disconcerting silence on fiscal data, Oman has announced a surprising improvement in its deficit, Fitch has affirmed its rating and the Sultanate has seized the opportunity to promptly appoint bankers for a new bond issuance. We doubt the fiscal outturn for the rest of 2019 will b...