NEWS FLASH

UPCOMING WEBINAR - THE IMPACT OF THE IRAN AND UKRAINE WARS ON THE CIS...

Serbia and Argentina are producing the Russian vaccine
CIS POLITICS · In Brief · 07 Jun 2021

On June 4 it was announced that the two countries are making the Sputnk V. Serbia's objective is to make 4 million doses.Argentina and Serbia will export the vaccine once they have satisfied their domestic needs. The Russian Direct Investment Fund is marketing the vaccine.

Summertime, when the livin’ ain’t easy
TURKEY · Report · 06 Jun 2021

The YouTube broadcasts of a Mafia boss Mr. Sedat Peker are still creating tremors in Turkish politics, as each installment brings new charges and new persona into the plot. The recent broadcasts have focused on AKP members receiving kickbacks and the illicit weapons trade to fundamentalist entiti...

The new government is expected to be fiscally responsible
ISRAEL · In Brief · 06 Jun 2021

Highlights:Politics: The new “change” government will be sworn in by next week, barring any unforeseen developments. We think this government is a positive development for fiscal policy and stimulating growth.Economic indicators continue to point to a strong recovery Broad unemployment declined t...

Sleepless in Cali
COLOMBIA · Report · 04 Jun 2021

Destabilization via vandalism, roadblocks in major cities and paralysis of the crucial Buenaventura seaport has been effective, proving Colombia quite vulnerable to obstructions in key logistical corridors. The country may be at a critical moment, similar to that of 1903, when Panama broke away. ...

Retail sales data was relatively strong in April
HUNGARY · In Brief · 04 Jun 2021

Retail sales fell 1% mom but rose 12.2% yoy, sda, in volume terms in April. The mom number was depressed by this year's Covid lockdown, whereas the yoy figure was greatly lifted by last year's lockdown, which resulted in an extremely big, 13.7% mom drop in April 2020.The conclusion from this data...

​GULF WEEKLY: S&P negative on Bahrain, Aramco plans sukuk, Oman protests end, oil at a 2-year high
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 04 Jun 2021

A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines: * There was positivity after the 5th round of US-Iran talks, but still no deal. Iran was also positive about its talks with Saudi. * Coronavirus cases continued rising in UAE, Kuwait and Oman but eased in Bahrain and Qatar. ...

Don't be fooled by randomness
TURKEY · Report · 03 Jun 2021

Consumer prices rose by 0.89% in May, lower than the consensus (and our) estimate of some 1.3%, which resulted in a drop in the 12-month rate drop --after 7 consecutive months of increase-- to 16.6% from 17.1% in April. On the other hand, producer prices (domestic-PPI inflation) rose by 3.9%, m/m...

Economics: Bits of promising news amid a complicated outlook
MEXICO · Report · 01 Jun 2021

Data released in May provided plenty of evidence of continuing economic weakness in Mexico, but also glimmers of what could be more positive developments to come, as reported numbers of Covid-19 cases continued to trend lower and pandemic-related restrictions continued to be phased out through mu...

Synthesis of the Brazilian Economy
BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 01 Jun 2021

With the death toll still stubbornly high – 1,800 per day in the 7-day moving average – the second wave of Covid-19 contagion is poised to become the start of a new epidemic cycle. The premature relaxation of the rules on opening in sectors where physical proximity is the norm and the still slugg...

Turkey Covid Watch - June 1, 2021
TURKEY · Report · 01 Jun 2021

Covid cases continued to decline this week, albeit at a slower pace. The new measures were officially announced at a cabinet meeting yesterday, including relaxation of curfews and restrictions on intercity travel. In this installment of our Covid Watch, we also provide some illustrative calculati...

The pressure for emergency aid and other weekly topics
BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 01 Jun 2021

This week's Thursday holiday means reduced activity in the Legislative branch. The House may announce the creation of a Special Committee to analyze Administrative Reform. Arthur Lira could announce the rapporteur of the bill that creates the CBS tax. In the Senate, the rapporteur of the Eletrobr...

Robust growth without monetary loosening
CHINA · Report · 01 Jun 2021

Growth is stable. Industrial output was up 9.8% y/y in April, and up 14.1% y/y from April 2019, with annualized growth of 6.8% y/y, the same as in Q1, and higher than the pre-pandemic levels in 2018 and 2019. Investment is still weak, and rose 8% y/y from April 2019, with an annualized growth rat...

The "rebound effect" versus the "hysteresis effect": The projections for the economy in 2021 are betting on the former, but we analyze the latter
PANAMA · Report · 01 Jun 2021

The IMF projects 12% real growth for the year, based on three factors: the vaccination rollout, the private investment recovery, and the "rebound effect" after a 17.9 percent drop in economic activity in 2020. Rating agencies and other international analysts are also projecting double-digit growt...

The marriage of the two unicorns
INDONESIA · Report · 01 Jun 2021

Indonesia has seen an interesting story about the merger of two unicorns, Gojek, a ride-hailing start-up, and Tokopedia, a marketplace platform, both of which were "unicorns" before the merger. The merger of the two companies strengthens the technology companies to reach a possible valuation of s...

​Q1 GDP: Some signs of a painful transformation?
TURKEY · Report · 31 May 2021

The Turkish economy grew by a higher than expected 7%, y/y, in the first quarter of 2021, and 1.7%, q/q (Graph 1). The information content of year-on-year data in terms of showing the true state of the economy is especially misleading nowadays, given the strong base effects from last year -- and ...