GlobalSource Partners | Country Insights

In this report, we begin by discussing politics, focusing on the high number of laws approved by Congress that will shape the 2026 presidential and congressional elections. We then summarize our forecasts on the economy. We start by discussing our base, low and high-case scenarios, followed by re...

The economic team is still waiting for the compensatory measures for payroll tax relief, the Budget committee should present a proposal on spending cuts, and the rapporteur of the BC autonomy bill reads his report

BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 18 Jun 2024

Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said that the economic team is waiting for compensatory proposals for payroll tax relief so that the Federal Revenue Service can run its calculations. The total cost of the tax exemption is R$ 26 billion. Yesterday, Lula had a meeting with the Budget Committee, wh...

A Hostile World Demands Coherence in Economic Policy Management

BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 17 Jun 2024

The depreciation of the Brazilian real, which began late last year, has gained momentum in recent months. Part of this movement occurred alongside the appreciation of the dollar, but recently domestic factors have been predominant. The currency weakening occurs despite a positive exchange flow, d...

Economics: External and internal risks weigh on historically high FDI over the medium term

MEXICO · Report · 17 Jun 2024

FDI remained high through 1Q24, but new investment flows have slowed to a trickle, and we look for both internal and external factors to seriously limit inflows over an intermediate time horizon. At 20.313 billion dollars, foreign direct investment in Mexico in the aggregate turned in a favorable...

Politics: The extent of the next legislative majority and AMLO’s "Plan C"—two transcendental issues

MEXICO · Report · 17 Jun 2024

In the wake of the June 2 federal elections, the composition of the next Congress and López Obrador’s "Plan C" proposal to reform the Judiciary have emerged as the two main points of political debate. Morena lawmakers have announced that the open parliament discussions on the judiciary that virtu...

The spending-cut agenda and other weekly topics

BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 17 Jun 2024

The debate between the government and Congress over compensatory measures for payroll tax relief continues. The President of the Senate meets with governors to discuss state debt, and a proposal may be presented to President Lula this week. The Tax Reform Working Group in the House begins discuss...

A thorny path towards the presidency

ECUADOR · Report · 17 Jun 2024

President Noboa still holds close to 50% of popular support. He has stated his intention to run for president in 2025, and his party has been officially qualified by the Electoral Council to do so. His chances of passing into the second round of the presidential elections of next May are high, bu...

CA surplus remains strong, net FDI turns negative

ISRAEL · In Brief · 17 Jun 2024

Macro fundamentals remain shekel-supportive, but slightly less in previous. The current account surplus reached 6.8bn USD in the 1st quarter of 2024, down from 9.3bn in Q423, but higher than one year ago (5.7bn USD, all SA). In Q124, the service account surplus held nearly stable at 10.5bn while ...

Waiting for the Third Plenum

CHINA FINANCIAL · Report · 17 Jun 2024

Special points to highlight in this report: As I mentioned in my May report, the Third Plenum is scheduled to be held in July, much later than the expected October or November date last year. Most analysts believe the long delay suggests the lack of a consensus over how to address weak domesti...

Senate leaders discuss compensatory measures for payroll tax relief, Pacheco discusses state debt with the Federal Government, and the Working Group on Tax Reform will hold seven more hearings

BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 17 Jun 2024

Senate leaders and government representatives continue discussions on compensatory measures for payroll tax relief for companies and municipalities. The cost of the tax exemption is estimated to be around R$ 26 billion. The president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), will meet with governo...

Zelensky in Saudi

CIS POLITICS · In Brief · 17 Jun 2024

On June 13 he arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Zelensky met Mohammed Bin Salman or MBS as he is known. MBS is the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and effectively rules this country because his father is incapacitated. The media had not been informed in advance. MBS and Zelensky discussed peace plans...

Election Monitor V: The national elections - The birth pangs and excitement of a “True Democratic Election” process

SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 17 Jun 2024

On June 14, South Africa witnessed the excitement, the anxieties and the uncertainties inherent in a national election in which the results have no outright winner. For thirty years, the national elections were fair and transparent, yet the results were largely predictable, and the inauguration o...

Economic growth decelerates in May: more evidence

KAZAKHSTAN · In Brief · 17 Jun 2024

The Bureau of National Statistics continued to publish its May economic statistics, and the most recent revelations confirm that the country’s economic growth gradually decelerates, albeit from high 2023 numbers, so that the 2023 growth looks not too bad. Today, the Bureau announced that in 5M24,...

A surprising decline in airline fares moderates inflation

ISRAEL · Report · 17 Jun 2024

1. Inflation in May surprised sharply on the downside due to a sharp unexpected decline in airline fares. 2. We expect inflation to reach 3.1% the coming year due to an expansionary fiscal policy, tight labor market and higher rental prices. 3. Despite May’s low CPI, a possible rate reducti...

Analysts expect only 25bps base rate cut tomorrow

HUNGARY · In Brief · 17 Jun 2024

Ten out of twelve analysts surveyed by Portfolio.hu are saying now that the Monetary Council is likely to reduce the monthly base rate cut to 25 bps at tomorrow's rate-setting meeting. The remaining two are saying that a 50 bps cut is still more likely. Until 2-3 weeks ago, the predominant analys...