Rougher Riding
COLOMBIA · Forecast · 29 Jul 2013

Executive SummaryUnder the government and central bank’s balance of payments outlook for 2013-2017, the current account deficit is expected to peak this year and next at 3.4% of GDP, then fall to below 3% of GDP by 2017. But the capital account surplus is on track to fall from 4.3% this year to 3...

Political Insights: Week of July 29
BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 29 Jul 2013

Congress resumes activity on Thursday, but voting will begin next week. This week we highlight the economy, with the release of the commercial balance for July, industrial production for June and other indicators. Dilma’s interview Sunday’s Folha newspaper contained a three-page interview with Pr...

Unemployment May Rise Slightly
BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 29 Jul 2013

Explaining the behavior of unemployment in Brazil in recent years has been a challenge. It rose only slightly during the crisis of 2008, when Brazil faced a recession, and for the past year and a half it has remained roughly stable in seasonally adjusted terms (Graph 1), even with the progressive...

Less Growth and No Success in Reducing Inflation
BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Forecast · 29 Jul 2013

Executive Summary We have reduced the projections for GDP growth to 1.9% in 2013, and to 2% in 2014. Inflation will remain high (6% in 2013 and 6.5% in 2014); the exchange rate should stay in the range of R$2.25/US$ in 2013 and RS$ 2.30/US$ in 2014; and the trade surpluses should decline to US$ 5...

Growth Outlook Bleak
INDIA · Forecast · 29 Jul 2013

Executive SummaryProduction continues to slow: GDP grew at 4.8% y/y in Q4 (Jan-Mar) of 2012-2013, and non-agricultural GDP grew 5.3%. Industrial production has likewise slipped, contracting 1.6% y/y in May. A task force has been set up to track stalled projects in key power, coal, mines and road ...

Weekly Tracker: July 28-Aug 3
TURKEY · Report · 28 Jul 2013

Executive Summary The government efforts to isolate the conspirators behind the Gezi Parki demonstrations have turned into heavy-handed prosecution against organizers and a purge in the media. The witch-hunt appears to have spread to the corporate sector as well, where a draconian tax probe was l...

Weekly Tracker: July 28-Aug 3
TURKEY · Report · 28 Jul 2013

Executive Summary The government efforts to isolate the conspirators behind the Gezi Parki demonstrations have turned into heavy-handed prosecution against organizers and a purge in the media. The witch-hunt appears to have spread to the corporate sector as well, where a draconian tax probe was l...

Currency Struggling for Stability
INDONESIA · Report · 28 Jul 2013

Executive Summary We may see rupiah depreciation deepen, given intensifying public purchases of dollars and waning confidence in the Central Bank’s ability to defend the currency. Having topped Rp. 10,000 per dollar, and drifting lower, the rupiah is now seeking a new equilibrium level. Sev...

Peru’s Winter of Our Discontent
PERU · Report · 26 Jul 2013

Executive SummaryThe most unusual of Peru’s recent spate of protests was a spontaneous uprising organized via social media, against the appointments of six Constitutional Tribunal judges and an ombudsman. Instead of choosing qualified candidates, Congress parceled the posts out among political pa...

Sicad 2 Disappoints
VENEZUELA · Report · 25 Jul 2013

Executive Summary Nicolás Maduro has had a busy month filled with activities at home and abroad designed to show him firmly in control of the presidency. Meanwhile, repression against opposition politicians continues. The PSUV seems to be trying to silence the opposition by harassment. Venezuela’...

South Africa Reacts to Faltering Growth Momentum
SOUTH AFRICA · In Brief · 24 Jul 2013

An African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting resolved this week to set up a Presidential Task Team on the economy, with a view to arrest the faltering growth momentum. The South African economy has been bedeviled by the weak global economic environment as well as ...

South Africa Reacts to Faltering Growth Momentum
SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 24 Jul 2013

An African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting resolved this week to set up a Presidential Task Team on the economy, with a view to arrest the faltering growth momentum. The South African economy has been bedeviled by the weak global economic environment as well as ...

The Party’s Over…but the music still sounds
PANAMA · Forecast · 23 Jul 2013

Executive SummaryGrowth has lost its double-digit momentum for the first time in nearly two years, coming in at 7% in Q1, down from 10% in Q4 2012. Falling services exports, weaker global growth and trade restrictions in Venezuela and Colombia have taken a toll, as has the end of the government i...

Middle Class Incomes Stagnate
MEXICO · Report · 23 Jul 2013

Executive Summary At the beginning of the week President Enrique Peña Nieto announced his Investment Program for Transportation and Telecommunications Infrastructure for 2013 to 2018. During the presentation, the President said his administration intends to spend roughly 4 trillion pesos on such ...

Our Dignity is not for Sale
ECUADOR · Report · 23 Jul 2013

Executive Summary Though Ecuador decided it wasn’t in its best interest to provide political asylum for fugitive American intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, the damage to Ecuador’s trade relations with the United States has been done. Fifteen products, or 17% of Ecuador’s non-oil exports, wi...