GlobalSource Partners | Country Insights

Executive Summary While the fiscal imbalance continues to deteriorate, activity indicators have been showing signs of improvement over the last months. Such relatively “benign” economic change ahead of the elections is no coincidence. Contrary to 2014, the Government has not only relaxed its fisc...

Week of June 29

BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 29 Jun 2015

President Dilma Rousseff is in the USA with the goal of attracting investments to the country, especially in the area of infrastructure.The Senate receives the bill on payroll tax exemptions and the provisional measure on the minimum wage.It also discusses the rules requiring Petrobras participat...

The Weakening of the Labor Market According to Three Data Sources

BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 29 Jun 2015

The result of the Monthly Employment Survey (PME) published last week strengthens the perception that the job market is getting weaker. The PME estimates the figures on employment in the formal and informal sectors in six metropolitan regions, and according to the latest results the 12-month grow...

Government Losing Steam

PERU · Report · 29 Jun 2015

Executive Summary President Ollanta Humala’s regime is rapidly losing its ability to govern, as his party has lost its plurality in Congress. Many members of the ruling party have defected, and Humala no longer has the congressional support he needs in order to advance major structural reforms. T...

EL SALVADOR: President Earns Low Marks for His First Year

CENTRAL AMERICA · Report · 29 Jun 2015

Executive Summary We give El Salvador’s new presidential administration a low grade for its first year in office. Growth is still sluggish, and other troubles persist, such as uncontrolled public debt. The adverse business climate is reflected in low private investment, driven by the government’s...

Hungary is looking ahead to incalculable Greek events with healthy fundamentals

HUNGARY · In Brief · 28 Jun 2015

Most recent events with regard to Greece have proven to be genuinely incalculable, and so it may continue in the forthcoming days and weeks. As the potential capital market consequences on Europe and perhaps even more on the eastern side of the continent may be significant, it is good to remember...

Weekly Tracker: June 28-July 4

TURKEY · Report · 28 Jun 2015

Executive Summary Heads up!If a large variety of Turkish news sources are to be believed President Erdogan and PM Davutoglu already ordered the military to march into Syria to defend Turkey’s borders. We don’t quite find the news sensible, but remain very alarmed about the prospect of Turkish boo...

Will Political Turmoil Affect Economic Performance?

PANAMA · Forecast · 26 Jun 2015

Executive Summary The economy is running at a steady pace: we project a 5.9% GDP growth in 2015 and 6.1% in 2016. The political climate is the most worrisome in the two-and-a-half decades after the demise of the military dictatorship due to corruption scandals during the Martinelli administration...

Signs of Stagflation?

INDONESIA · Report · 26 Jun 2015

Executive Summary Similar to April, May 2015 was considered another critical month for the trade balance for Indonesia. In the previous years, the period starting from the third month prior to Ramadan was considered critical because of the spike in imports. However this year the months of Apri...

Strong Contraction of Credit

BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 26 Jun 2015

Executive Summary Since the level of nonperforming loans started to creep upward in late 2011-early 2012, private banks have been extremely cautious in extending new credit, both to consumers and companies. The most recent data indicate sharper contraction of non-earmarked credit and less impe...

A Bumpy Inflation Landscape

SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 26 Jun 2015

Headline inflation has accelerated from 4% year on year (y/y) in March 2015 to 4.6% y/y in May 2015. Producer price inflation for final manufactured goods increased significantly, to 3.6% y/y in May 2015 from 3.0% y/y recorded in April. Essentially, the trend in domestic inflation has reversed co...

Economics: Commodities, Forex and Inflation

MEXICO · Report · 24 Jun 2015

Executive Summary Over the past year raw material prices have experienced their sharpest contractions on an international level since the economic crisis of 2008-2009. The International Monetary Fund’s general index of raw material prices recorded a 31.9% decrease between June 2014 and May of thi...

Politics: Municipal Election Results

MEXICO · Report · 24 Jun 2015

Executive Summary In addition to electing a new Chamber of Deputies and nine state governors, on June 7 Mexican voters elected new authorities in slightly more than 1,000 municipalities. This election confirmed that a party’s victory in a gubernatorial contest is by no means a guarantee of carryi...

Another 15 bps cut by the MNB, further small reduction promised

HUNGARY · In Brief · 23 Jun 2015

The MNB reduced its base rate by 15 bps to 1.5% today, just as widely expected. Including this measure, the MNB has cut the base rate by a full 60 bps in equal steps over the past four months. The forint received this news quite negligently, hovering around EURHUF 310, which essentially represent...

The Current Account Deficit Remains in Place

SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 23 Jun 2015

After having eased to 5.1% of the gross domestic product in Q4 2014, the deficit on the current account narrowed further, to 4.8% in Q1 2015 (see Graph 1). Graph 1 Current account balance, South Africa, 2010 Q1- 2015 Q1 Notes: (1) The data is seasonally adjusted and annualized.(2) Current account...