NEWS FLASH

UPCOMING WEBINAR - CAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA: ECONOMIC UPSWINGS AND POL...

Dilma Rousseff Government
BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 02 Oct 2015

President cuts eight ministries and reduces ministers’ salaries by 10% Today, October 2, President Dilma Rousseff divulged her administrative and ministerial reforms, with the objective of reconstructing her governing base in the National Congress. The number of ministries fell from 39 to 31.

A Mild Slowdown, the 2016 Budget and the Political Headlines
PANAMA · Report · 01 Oct 2015

As we expected, real GDP growth for the second quarter of 2015 was 5.8% and 6.0% in the first semester. In H1 2015, the dynamic sectors of the economy included electricity, gas and water; social and private health services; and financial intermediation. Commerce, Transportation, and Construction ...

Should the Central Bank Exchange its Currency Swaps for Reserves?
BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 01 Oct 2015

Interventions in the foreign exchange market are a controversial subject. While small interventions trying to dampen excessive volatility are one thing, heavy interventions to change the level of the exchange rate, when the economy is suffering from extreme macroeconomic imbalances, is quite anot...

Economy Stabilizes, But Recovery is Far Away
UKRAINE · Forecast · 01 Oct 2015

We continue to observe positive developments in the economy. GDP shrinkage slowed down from -17.2% y/y in Q1 to -14.6% y/y in Q2.Industrial output’s ongoing decline shrank “just” -5.8% y/y in August, from -20.5% y/y in H1. As the hryvnia strengthened, disinflation was also noticeable. The risks t...

A Sobering Forecast
MEXICO · Report · 01 Oct 2015

The economy continues to show signs of weakness. The leading economic indicator slipped 0.09 points from June to July, to 99.6 points (below the threshold of its long-term trend). With this in mind, we believe GDP growth will be 1.8% in Q3, and 2.0% in Q4. Consumer inflation has remained stubb...

Once more on Volkswagen's impact on growth
HUNGARY · In Brief · 01 Oct 2015

A few days ago, we said that based on then available information, the running Volkswagen case was likely to cut Hungary's real GDP growth by up to 0.5% points over the next 12 months. Then a day later economy minister Varga said it was 0.3-0.6%, although he did not clarify if he meant an annual o...

Macro figures of the 2016 budget bill: a carbon copy of 2015; deficit of NFPS set at 2.3% of GDP
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC · In Brief · 30 Sep 2015

Yesterday, the government submitted to Congress the budget bill for 2016. The bill set total expenditures and financial applications at DOP 663.6 bn, equivalent to 20.1% of GDP. Primary expenditure is estimated at 17.1% of GDP, 0.4% less than the level set in the 2015 budget Authorities forecast ...

Dilma Rousseff Government
BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 30 Sep 2015

he CNI/Ibope poll released today, September 30, showed a stable evaluation of Dilma Rousseff’s government. The positive percentage ("excellent/good"), regular, and negative ("bad/terrible") fluctuated within the margin of error, which is two percentage points

South Africa’s Economic Freedom: Government Consumption and Inflation
SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 30 Sep 2015

In mid-September 2015 the Fraser Institute released its annual report on the Economic Freedom of the World (EFW) for the year 2013, and South Africa’s global ranking had slipped from 93 in 2012 to 96 in 2013. To construct the EFW index, forty-two data points are utilized in measuring the degree o...

Which election outcome will the markets like?
TURKEY · In Brief · 30 Sep 2015 · 1 response

An esteemed reader wrote to us “Crew, What do you think would market responses be, based on your views and the views of your client base into the elections, to the different plausible electoral outcomes, especially: - AKP simple majority - Coalition with CHP - Coalition with MHP What would Cosmo ...

A Balance of Payment Crisis in the Making?
ARGENTINA · Report · 30 Sep 2015

After the primary elections in August and with less than a month to go for the general presidential election on October 25th, political analysis shifted back to polls, in an attempt to anticipate the awaited outcome. Yet, despite the fact that more than a month passed since the primaries and many...

The Political Economy of the SA Steel Industry
SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 30 Sep 2015

Schumpeter famously argued that innovation along with the destruction of old technologies are fundamental in the capitalist economy, its growth and technical change over time. Hence in a capitalist economy, profit-seeking firms (and industries) innovate for growth and survival. Globalization, esp...

Exports to Haiti threatened by bans
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC · Report · 28 Sep 2015

In June and July economic activity accelerated. The Monthly Indicator of Economic Activity (IMAE for its Spanish acronym) estimated the increase in production for June at 6.5%, and for July at a surprising 7.5%. Inflation in August with respect to July, as measured by the percentage change in ...

Week of September 28
BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 28 Sep 2015

For President Dilma Rousseff, this will be one of the most important weeks since her reelection. She is betting big on ministerial reform to rekindle dialog with her governing coalition, especially the PMDB. In Congress, she faces a difficult test: voting on the vetoes with a fiscal impact of R$ ...

Business Credit Decelerating Intensely
BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 28 Sep 2015

Companies are facing serious difficulties in obtaining financing. New loans to firms have been declining since the first months of 2014, and this trend has been worsening recently. The increasing Brazil risk and loss of investment grade makes access to foreign credit harder. This means the recess...