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January 2026 Colombia slide deck: Moderate optimism but plenty of noise until the run-off election in June
COLOMBIA · Presentation · 23 Jan 2026

Read the slide presentation prepared by Juan Carlos Echeverry, Andres Escobar and Mauricio Santamaría with charts on the most recent poll results for the coming elections, the current state of the fiscal accounts, and an overview of Colombia's economy and prospects.

GULF WEEKLY: Humain and G42 advance AI plans, Gulf joins Board of Peace, Syria takes Rojava
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 23 Jan 2026

A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines: * Oil ticked up a little to $65 as Trump mentioned the "armada" headed towards Iran. * GCC debt security issuance rose 14% in 2025, comprising 35% of EMs (ex-China). * Chinese bank lending to the GCC was $16bn in 2025, as ...

Extreme election uncertainty magnifies risks of macro forecasts
HUNGARY · Forecast · 23 Jan 2026

Less than three months before the parliamentary election, there remains extraordinarily high uncertainty as to the likely outcome. Opinion poll results are diverse, even though on average they suggest that the opposition Tisza is distinctly more popular than Fidesz. However, given the existing he...

TOPIC OF THE WEEK: Pashinyan is looking for agents of the KGB and "traitors of Christ" in Armenia
CAUCASUS / CENTRAL ASIA · Report · 23 Jan 2026

The start of the political year in Armenia has been rich in events and indicative of the kind of fraught environment that we are to face in the runup to the all-important Parliamentary vote in Jun. This is not surprising as I argued in my Year-Ahead Outlook that I fully expected Armenia to be the...

NBK kept the base rate unchanged
KAZAKHSTAN · In Brief · 23 Jan 2026

The National Bank of Kazakhstan decided to keep the base rate at 18.0% amid faster-than-expected economic growth and high inflation (12.3% in 2025 as a whole and 0.9% m-o-m in December), staying well above the medium-term target. The NBK’s chairperson quoted 6.5% GDP growth in 2025, i.e., the sam...

Kast's Cabinet
CHILE · In Brief · 22 Jan 2026

On Wednesday José Antonio Kast has presented his first cabinet. Clearly it is a team designed not so much with politics in mind, but aimed at meeting the short-term policy objectives that the president-elect has announced. Even though the ideological shift will be evident, the question is whether...

CBRT surprises on the cautious side
TURKEY · Report · 22 Jan 2026

Compared to forecasts of a 150 bps cut (including ours), the CBRT/MPC reduced the policy rate by a more modest and cautious 100 bps today to 37%. There were two relatively minor changes in the statement. Regarding January inflation, the Bank noted that “[w]hile leading indicators suggest that mon...

Where to invest your pension savings
COLOMBIA · In Brief · 22 Jan 2026

The government published a draft decree that would limit mandatory pension fund (AFPs) investments abroad to 30% of their total portfolio across all risk profiles. Within three years, pension funds would have to reduce their maximum allocation to foreign assets to 35%, and within five years to th...

Russia: a brief market watch
RUSSIA ECONOMICS · In Brief · 22 Jan 2026

The FX market remains stable despite external turbulence. Some fluctuations were observed during the extended national holiday period earlier this month, when the USD/RUB moved to 80 level amid poor liquidity. However, when all the major players were back after holidays, the ruble appreciated aga...

China’s latest data and its stimulus plans
CHINA ADVISORY · Report · 21 Jan 2026

After China released its December 2025 economic data over the weekend, Beijing hit the panic button. On Tuesday January 20, the National Development and Reform Commission held a press conference to announce a five-point plan to help the economy. My basic take on the plan is that it is very much p...

Peru's President Jerí could face impeachment
PERU · In Brief · 21 Jan 2026 · 1 response

Today at 2pm, Lima time, caretaker president José Jerí will attend Congress' Fiscalization Commission. On Sunday 11th Latina TV aired a video of president Jeri with a hood covering his face and at the middle of the night on December 26th entering a store of a Chinese entrepreneur Zhihua Yang a co...

The 2025 vicious cycle: unimpressive economic growth trims budget revenues, and the latter drags growth
RUSSIA ECONOMICS · In Brief · 21 Jan 2026

It is now widely expected that the 2025 GDP growth figure will be about 1.0%, pointing to a dramatic deceleration of economic growth last year. At the same time, inflation unexpectedly fell to 5.59% – the lowest number in the past five years. The CBR succeeded in bringing inflation down through a...

Economics: The Mexican automotive sector closes 2025 in negative territory, facing considerable challenges for 2026
MEXICO · Report · 20 Jan 2026

On Tuesday, January 13, U.S. President Donald Trump made several statements, first during a visit to a Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan, and later before the Detroit Economic Club. He referred to the USMCA as "irrelevant" for the US, claiming it offers "no real advantage" and could be renewed or ...

Macroeconomic and geopolitical developments – Weekly report, January 20, 2026
ISRAEL · Report · 20 Jan 2026

The past week was dominated by the December CPI and full-year inflation data for 2025. Annual inflation stood at 2.6%, returning to the target range for the first time in three years. The Bank of Israel has begun easing, but in our view further rate cuts are more likely toward the end of Q2 2026....

Politics: The prospects for 2026
MEXICO · Report · 20 Jan 2026

2026 will be a decisive year for President Claudia Sheinbaum, who faces multiple crossroads in consolidating the Fourth Transformation (4T) while balancing internal loyalties and external pressures. Politically, the government is pushing an electoral reform aimed at achieving overrepresentation i...