China Data: Mixed Data Backs More Stimulus

November 15, 2024 7:42 AM UTC

China October data is mixed with a bounce in retail sales helped by government trade ins and a holiday, but industrial production and housing construction disappointing.  This all argues for further fiscal stimulus.  However, given our view that some tariff increases against China by the U.S will

U.S. Tariffs on China: How and When?

November 13, 2024 9:55 AM UTC

The U.S. can put pressure on other countries by starting tariffs at a more moderate scale and country and industry specific and then credibly threatening to increase and broaden tariffs as it did in 2018-19 to get trade concessions from other countries.  This also reduce the scale of the adverse in

China Yuan10trn Package: Shifting Debt Not Stimulus

November 11, 2024 10:06 AM UTC

Details of the Yuan10trn fiscal package show that it is all directed at a debt swap for LGFV’s and repackaging hidden local government debt.  This will have little net fiscal stimulus.  True fiscal stimulus will be seen for 2025 GDP growth, but it could be delayed until further details are seen

U.S. Election – Initial Thoughts

November 6, 2024 6:54 AM UTC

A Trump victory is now widely expected with results so far and has prompted knee jerk reaction in markets with U.S. Treasury yields and USD higher.  Policy uncertainty is high over tariffs, though the 2017 tax cuts will likely be renewed with some additional tax cuts elsewhere -- House race is tigh

Will China Deflation Depress GDP?

November 4, 2024 7:05 AM UTC

China most likely faces aggressive disinflation rather than Japan style deflation that depress GDP. China is a middle income country with incomplete urbanization/consumption, while China authorities appear more proactive than Japan in the 1990’s.  However, support for households remains light, wh

BRICS Summit 2024: Kazan Declaration not a Game Changer

October 28, 2024 11:41 AM UTC

Bottom Line: The BRICS Summit, which was held in Kazan on October 22-24, was the first summit following BRICS has expanded to include Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Despite expectations, Kazan deceleration, which was a joint statement signed after the summit, is not a game-chan

China Big Banking System: Lessons from Japan/GFC

October 24, 2024 10:50 AM UTC

The proposed Yuan1trn capital injection for the six largest banks would be pre-emptive, while China is also quick to merge weaker/failing small to mid-sized banks. However, rising NPL’s; plus, low net interest margins with low policy rates; low nominal GDP and pressure to rollover LGFV/SOE debt wi

China Corporate Debt Deleveraging

October 21, 2024 10:45 AM UTC

Private companies ex property developers have seen a small pay down of debt, but the largest remaining portion of non-financial debt ex LGFV is central and local SOE’s.  They have low profitability and have shown few signs of increased leverage.  This leaves the onus on fiscal policy.  

China September Data Rotates Higher, But

October 18, 2024 7:30 AM UTC

Q3 GDP and September monthly figures were slightly better than expected. Combined with a speed up of local government spending in Q4 and more completion of uncompleted homes, we change our 2024 GDP forecast to 4.8% v 4.6%.  However, despite a further Yuan1.5-2.0trn of fiscal stimulus to come, we st

U.S. Tensions for China: Protected by BRICS and BRI?

October 15, 2024 9:30 AM UTC

BRICS can provide a political buffer but not economic, as BRICS are still searching for practical areas for cooperation.  However, Donald Trump universal tariffs threats could focus BRICS on more intra EM trade. BRI has already helped to redirect China exports to EM countries, despite the slowdown

China Fiscal Stimulus: Details to Follow

October 14, 2024 8:37 AM UTC

Further details of the size of extra central government spending/scaled up local authority purchases of unsold complete homes for affordable housing should be seen late October/early November from the National People Congress.  We estimate Yuan1.5-2.0trn in total of extra spending, which leads us t

China and Japan Debt Compared

October 10, 2024 1:35 PM UTC

China housing crisis will likely mean that household debt/GDP flat lines in the coming years like Japan after 1990 and be a headwind for consumption.  Meanwhile, the downturn in residential construction is already greater than that experienced by Japan after 1990 and in itself will be remain a stru

China: Any Lessons from the 1997-98 Asian Crisis?

October 3, 2024 1:30 PM UTC

Overall, the warning from slow real credit growth on reduced credit supply and demand is the main lesson from the Asia crisis 1997-98.  China High FX reserves; low borrowing overseas and dominance of domestic investors in Yuan markets argues against a currency crisis.  Asia widespread banking cris

Markets: Rate Cuts or Geopolitics?

October 2, 2024 9:36 AM UTC

Israel will likely counteract Iran, which will prompt a further missile attack by Iran.  However, our bias remains that Israel main aim is to have a buffer zone in southern Lebanon up to the Latani river and not fight a prolonged war with Iran.  This limits the economic fallout globally and on oil

September Outlook: Rate Cuts But How Far?

September 27, 2024 7:44 AM UTC

The 15 chapters of our September Outlook have now been published.  See the headlines and weblinks enclosed for links to the articles on economic, policy and markets for the 23 countries that we cover.

Outlook Forecasts to download in Excel

September 26, 2024 12:30 PM UTC

Below is an Excel file that contains our headline forecasts for GDP, Inflation, Monetary Policy, and Exchange Rates.

EM FX Outlook: Fed Easing Helps but Divergent Trends

September 26, 2024 8:00 AM UTC

  USD strength is ebbing across the board, which provides a positive force for most EM currencies on a spot basis.  However, where inflation differentials are large, the downward pressure will remain in 2025 e.g. Turkish Lira (TRY).  Where inflation differentials are modest against the U.S., but

Outlook Overview: Rate Cuts But How Far?

September 25, 2024 7:30 AM UTC

·        The U.S. economy is slowing, with the critical question being whether this is a soft or harder landing.  Our broad analysis leaves us inclined to the soft landing view into 2025, though we shall watch real sector data closely over the next 3-6 months to check the trajectory.  Else

China Outlook: Unbalanced Growth and Slowing

September 24, 2024 8:54 AM UTC

      Growth is benefitting from momentum in public investment/exports and high tech production.  However, domestic demand is slower and this is a drag on H2 2024 and 2025 growth prospects.  Aside from the ongoing negative drag from the residential construction crisis, consumption is also softe

China Steps Up Support, But Not a Game changer

September 24, 2024 8:39 AM UTC

China has surprised and cut the 7 day reverse repo rate by 20bps to 1.5%, with a 50bps cuts in the RRR rate.  Combined with other measures this is a step-up in support and could help GDP on the margin, but the measures are not game changers as monetary policy is currently ineffective.  While furth

Equities Outlook: Choppy U.S. and Outperformance Elsewhere

September 24, 2024 8:30 AM UTC

 •     We now forecast 5450 for the S&P500 for end 2024, but could see a move to 5200/5000 in the next 3-6 months as volatile data keeps the soft v hard landing debate alive.  On our baseline of a U.S. soft landing, we would see the S&P500 at 5600 by end 2025. The tech sector is still really i

China Banking Stress Tests: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

September 18, 2024 8:05 AM UTC

The good news is that China’s 19 major domestic systemically important banks (D-SIB’s and 72% of loans) hold up well under most solvency and liquidity tests, though some capital shortfalls start to appear with a moderate or severe NPL sensitivity shock scenario.  The safety net would likely be

China: Weak August Data

September 16, 2024 6:58 AM UTC

China August data was worse than expected and confirms the weak trend in H2, with retail sales a real worry. The government risks missing the 5% growth target for 2024 and targeted fiscal policy moves are likely, but need to be implemented quickly.  10bps cut in the 7 day reverse repo rate is also

September 27 Outlook Webinar: Rate Cuts But How Far?

September 15, 2024 11:17 AM UTC

    Uncertainty about whether the U.S. economy will have a soft or hard landing is growing as the market approaches Q4.  This is shaping the debate regarding the scale of easing through the remainder of 2024 and 2025 by the Fed.  European easing is underway, but how much further will central ba

Sep 27 Outlook Webinar: Rate Cuts But How Far?

September 15, 2024 10:30 AM UTC

    Uncertainty about whether the U.S. economy will have a soft or hard landing is growing as the market approaches Q4.  This is shaping the debate regarding the scale of easing through the remainder of 2024 and 2025 by the Fed.  European easing is underway, but how much further will central ba

China Equities: More of the Same or Game changing Policies

September 9, 2024 9:15 AM UTC

 We remain strategically underweight China Equities in global and EM equity baskets, due to the structural slowing of growth and low EPS prospects. Event risk around the U.S. presidential election will also start to be considered.  Further targeted policies from China authorities could cause inter

Country Insights: Labor Productivity and Growth in China

September 4, 2024 9:30 AM UTC

The most recent update of our Country Insights model ranks China as the seventh strongest performer in our labor productivity growth sub-factor. However, the country's score has shown a clear downward trend after the GFC.

China Harder Landing Scenario

September 2, 2024 10:55 AM UTC

 We see a 30% probability of a harder landing in China GDP growth in 2025, which we most likely be in the 3-4% region but could persist into 2026 (Figure 1).  A large than projected slowdown in consumption would be a key concern, alongside persistently moderate negative deductions from residential

Asia Country Risk Ratings

August 29, 2024 10:00 AM UTC

We provide country risk reviews for Asia countries including China and Taiwan.  

China Consumer Volatility

August 28, 2024 1:30 PM UTC

China consumption patterns are divergent; slowing and becoming more volatile at a sub sector level.  Less certainty over new employment and wage growth, plus wealth worries over housing are some of the causes.  We forecast GDP to slow in H2 and be 4.0% in 2025.

China Housing Bailout: More Needed

August 21, 2024 9:00 AM UTC

Though China’s authorities have taken some action to help the residential construction sector, the negative drags from the huge excess completed housing and uncompleted projects continues to weigh directly on the construction/steel and cement sector and consumer confidence. Aggressive policy actio

China Data: Soft Start to Q3

August 15, 2024 6:40 AM UTC

Overall, the July data is consistent with our forecast of a weaker H2 and we still look for 4.7% GDP growth for 2024.  The data is also consistent with our forecast of 4.0% in 2025 GDP growth.  Consumption behavior could stall further and cause more of a drag than we anticipate and we now see a 30

EM Markets Divergence with China Harder Landing Concerns

August 14, 2024 3:35 PM UTC

Global market turbulence has had a spillover impact into EM, but also some EM assets have benefitted from rotation away from the U.S.  What are the prospects in the coming months?
We see scope for a 2nd wave of U.S. equity and Japanese Yen (JPY) correction, which are a mixed influence for EM assets

Market Turbulence and What has Changed?

August 13, 2024 12:22 PM UTC

 •   We see the recent market turbulence as being partially a reduction in risky positions.  However, the U.S. economy is slowing and triggering a debate about a soft or harder landing (we see slowing rather than recession in our baseline), while EZ data shows the recovery is not gaining moment

China: The Squeezed Middle and Bottom 50%

July 23, 2024 8:15 AM UTC

Uncertainty over income and employment, adverse wealth effects from lower house prices, plus growing risk aversion, will likely mean that consumption continues to struggle. This is one of the key reasons why we forecast slower H2 GDP growth and look for 4% in 2025.

China: Surprise 7 Day Reverse Repo Rate Cut

July 22, 2024 8:41 AM UTC

China 10bps cut in the 7 day reverse repo rate and 1 and 5yr Loan Prime Rate (LPR) was sooner than expected, as a move had not been anticipated until the Fed cuts rates.  However, this is not the start of a new aggressive policy phase, but rather a tactical move given the targeted nature of easing.

Trump 2.0: Markets Guessing Policy Priorities

July 18, 2024 9:10 AM UTC

 If Trump is elected president we still feel that the top priorities for implementation will likely be reducing immigration and making permanent tax cuts that are due to lapse in 2025. Trump would likely jawbone on all issues, but actual policy changes are more important for persistent moves in mar

China: Retail Sales Drags Q2 GDP

July 15, 2024 7:33 AM UTC

We are revising down our 2024 GDP forecast from 4.9% to 4.7%, both due to the weaker than expected Q2 GDP figure but also the weak underlying momentum of consumption.  Some further targeted policy measures are likely in the coming months, but will struggle to lift economic momentum.

China: Weak CPI and M2 Trends

July 10, 2024 7:27 AM UTC

China disinflation process is clear in the June CPI data, with excess production and soft consumer spending producing a lower than expected outcome.  Combined with weak M2 money growth, parts of China economy remain weak and point to a softening of GDP growth in H2.  However, policy action will li

China: 3rd Plenum Incremental Not Game Changing

July 2, 2024 8:10 AM UTC

The 3 plenum July 15-18 will likely see some additional measures that will support or stimulate China economy.  However, they are unlikely to be game changers, such as a Yuan2-4trn program of buying most unsold homes or structural increase in the unemployment/health and pension safety nets to free

Webinar Recording June Outlook: Cyclical and Structural Forces

July 2, 2024 7:30 AM UTC

EM After the Elections: Fiscal Focus and Inflation Questions

July 1, 2024 8:05 AM UTC

Enhancing fiscal credibility is key post-election in India and S Africa, but also for Brazil.  India, will do this in the 3 week of July, but S Africa needs to move from ANC/DA led coalition optimism to reality quickly. Brazil needs to stop the vicious circle of sentiment building up on fiscal slip

Outlook Forecasts to download in Excel

June 26, 2024 10:30 AM UTC

Below is an Excel file that contains our headline forecasts for GDP, Inflation, Monetary Policy, and Exchange Rates.

June Outlook: Cyclical and Structural Forces

June 26, 2024 7:58 AM UTC

The 15 chapters of our June Outlook have now been published.  See the headlines and weblinks enclosed for links to the articles on economic, policy and markets for the 23 countries that we cover

Outlook Overview: Cyclical and Structural Forces

June 25, 2024 10:15 AM UTC

•    The global economy is showing signs of healing, as inflation comes back towards targets and growth recovers momentum in some economies. Nevertheless, the cyclical headwind of lagged monetary tightening remains in DM countries, and will likely be one of the forces slowing the U.S. economy

EMFX Outlook: USD Strength to Ebb with Different EM Impact

June 25, 2024 8:05 AM UTC

 We see Fed rate cuts from September starting to soften USD strength into year end and 2025.  Beneficiaries will include currencies with inflation moving towards target and high real rates or, alternatively, undervalued currencies. This should benefit the Brazilian Real (BRL) and Indonesian Rupiah

Equities Outlook: Choppy U.S. and Outperformance Elsewhere

June 25, 2024 7:05 AM UTC

 •    U.S. equities are overvalued and waiting for earnings growth to catch-up, which leaves the market choppy, directionless and vulnerable to intermittent 5% corrections. Our forecast slowing of the U.S. economy before Fed rate cuts or nervousness about the post-election prospects are potenti

China Outlook: 2024 on Track, but 2025 Headwinds

June 19, 2024 9:35 AM UTC

Public investment and industrial production in high tech and renewables are helping to support growth and should get the economy close to 5% in 2024.  However, underneath the surface, consumption is slowing, private sector investment and employment growth is sluggish, and residential property inves

China Data: Mixed Momentum and No MTF Cut Until October

June 17, 2024 6:59 AM UTC

Overall the May data suggests that enough momentum exists for Q2 GDP to be above 5.0% Yr/Yr, which given the Q1 GDP figure means that the odds are good that the 2024 5.0% GDP target can be meet.  However, we see a softer of H2 GDP and 4.0% GDP in 2025, given weak domestic demand is unlikely to chan