NEWS FLASH

UPCOMING WEBINAR - ECUADOR RUNOFF: SHIFTING VOTES AND THE ROAD AHEAD...

Hyperinflation doesn’t give in to isolated measures
VENEZUELA · Report · 08 Aug 2018

​As we predicted, the monthly inflation rate in July 2018 slowed to 117 percent from 127 percent in June. (Our July forecast was 116 percent.) Accumulated inflation in this year to 31 July is 11,186 percent and the July year-on-year rate is 93,927 percent. The July slowdown reflected relative st...

IMF deal grows closer, but gas rates are a sticking point
UKRAINE · Report · 08 Aug 2018

The depreciation of the hryvnia and continued backing and forthing over the next rise in consumer gas rates have been the two main topics this mid-summer. Economic data remains predominantly positive, with payroll tax collections the only exception: these have noticeably underperformed, and the P...

July inflation data marks significant negative change
HUNGARY · In Brief · 08 Aug 2018

CPI-inflation was reported at 0.3% mom, 3.4% yoy for July, the yoy rate up from 3.1% in June. Analysts in Portfolio.hu's poll expected 3.3%, and the MNB predicted 3.3% for average CPI-inflation in Q3 in its June inflation report.Note: Yoy changes in percent; Sources: KSH, own estimatesThe big dea...

Armageddon or Salvation
TURKEY · In Brief · 07 Aug 2018 · 1 response

The basic scenario we have outlined in our recent Quarterly, i.e. Silver Linings Playbook, is playing out much faster with the crunch-time having arrived a lot sooner than we had imagined. Punished mercilessly by markets, Ankara has 24 hours to make a life-or-death decision. President Erdogan is ...

H1 marked by very strong growth
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC · Forecast · 07 Aug 2018

Preliminary data from the Central Bank indicates that in H1 2018 economic activity expanded by 6.7% year over year. In Q1, GDP growth measured by the Monthly Indicator of Economic Activity (IMAE) was 5.4%, and in Q2 it was 7.1%, an extraordinary and surprising expansion. More modest growth had be...

Tariff wars are likely to be disinflationary
CHINA FINANCIAL · Report · 07 Aug 2018

Special points to highlight in this issue: • Contrary to what many seem to believe, tariffs, even if they are much more widely implemented in the US, China, and elsewhere, are not likely to exacerbate inflationary pressures. On the contrary, they are more likely to be disinflationary because t...

Inflation rises to 5.7%
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 07 Aug 2018

July inflation rate reached 5.7%, near the upper end of the forecast ranges of the BSP (5.1-5.8%) and private analysts (5.4-5.8%); rising as well from the surprisingly high 5.2% print in June. The higher headline rate may be traced largely to higher prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages and ...

Industrial growth decelerates in tandem with the Euro Area
HUNGARY · In Brief · 07 Aug 2018

Industrial output fell 1.2% mom on sda basis in June. This marks a slowdown of yoy growth to 3.2%, from 3.7% in the previous month. In terms of quarterly results, output growth decelerated to 3.3% yoy in Q2, from 4.4% in Q1 and 5.9% in Q4 2017.Industrial output growth and PMI Sources: KSH, MLKBT,...

Post-convention views and the balance of the electoral race
BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 06 Aug 2018

The presidential candidates face each other in the first debate on TV Bandeirantes, this Thursday. The STF may discuss the freedom and ineligibility of former President Lula. Congress holds a “concentrated effort”. This week’s Talking Points • Post-convention views • The balance of the elect...

Synthesis of the Brazilian economy
BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 06 Aug 2018

As expected, the electoral scenario has been gaining clearer outlines as the deadline for officially registering candidacies approaches. As things stand now, the chances have decreased of two candidates from opposite extremes of the political spectrum reaching the second round, allaying the fears...

​One swallow does not make a summer
VENEZUELA · In Brief · 06 Aug 2018

The National Assembly Decree repealing the Law on Illicit Foreign Currency Transactions was published in Official Gazette No. 41,452 dated 2 August 2018. Aside from the legal issues arising from the fact that the Constituent Assembly has no power to repeal laws, this is the most relevant measure ...

Economics: AMLO's abstruse energy plans
MEXICO · Report · 06 Aug 2018

Since his election just over a month ago, Andrés Manuel López Obrador has used a steady deluge of policy announcements, transition initiatives and personnel picks for his incoming administration to keep the nation focused on his person and agenda. Last Wednesday he zeroed in on the energy sector ...

Monitoring the economic activity trend
BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 06 Aug 2018

Since the end of the truckers’ strike, the signals emitted by the high-frequency economic activity indicators have been buried in a veritable avalanche of noise, hampering identification of the economic recovery trend. Our evaluation, based on the most recent information, is that recovery continu...

Politics: Political control trumps security
MEXICO · Report · 06 Aug 2018

Society’s growing alienation from all manner of governmental and political institutions is a major factor at the heart of the broader political crisis that paved the way for López Obrador’s overwhelming electoral victory July 1, a crisis greatly deepened by the past few years of corruption scanda...

Credit upgrade likely to be positive for markets/shekel this week
ISRAEL · Report · 06 Aug 2018

Israel's credit upgrade to AA- (S&P) will support some modest shekel appreciation and lower bond yields in the short run, but this is likely to be temporary. We see some slack in the labor market, with the number of unemployed moving higher and job vacancies lower. The bigger driver of inflation ...