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COUNTRY INSIGHTS

Hungary ranks first in the EU’s league table on growth
HUNGARY · Report · 16 Sep 2019

According to Eurostat, Hungary recorded the highest GDP growth within the EU in Q2 this year, following a second place taken in this important league table in the previous quarter. Apparently, good growth performance in the face of a weak all-European cycle is a regional phenomenon, as the new EU...

Belarus and Russia integrate economies
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 16 Sep 2019

A secret economic integration program was agreed by Belarus and Russia on September 3. The objective is to have a harmonized tax code, civil code and foreign trade regime by January 2021. The two countries will have a common macroeconomic policy, currency control system and payment system. They w...

The industry’s poor performance and hope in consumption
BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 16 Sep 2019

The outlook for GDP growth is disheartening. Despite the surprisingly good performance of industrial GDP in the second quarter, when it grew by 0.7% in relation to the first quarter, there are no signs that this was trend change. The monthly survey of industrial production conducted by the IBGE s...

Investment portal launched in Russia
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 16 Sep 2019

Russian internet company Yandex is considering setting up an investment portal with VTB which is Russia's second biggest state owned banks. The aim is to start a fintech service to sell equities and funds to small scale investors. It will be called Yandex.Investment. The news has not yet been off...

Much uncertainty concerning the stability of the next government
ISRAEL · Report · 16 Sep 2019

Inflation in August reached 0.2% m/m and 0.6% y/y, similar to expectation, while core inflation reached 0.9% y/y. Rapid improvement in the CA surplus in Q2 2019 and robust FDI are shekel supportive. We still do not envision further accommodative monetary policy in Israel, with growth steady and t...

Big, fascinating but scary changes
UKRAINE · Report · 16 Sep 2019

Ukraine has never experienced anything like this. Everything has started to shift from its traditional places. There’s a new, clean Prosecutor General, and the intention to launch a land market seems absolutely serious. Most Ukrainians remain enthusiastic about everything that is happening. The p...

Gulf weekly: Houthis strike Saudi oil sites and Bolton is out
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 15 Sep 2019

Another dramatic week in the Gulf as the Houthi rebels in Yemen temporarily knocked out 5.7m b/d of Saudi oil production offline in drone strikes. Prior to this, the surprise sacking of John Bolton had raised hopes for an easing of US-Iran tensions. There was also plenty going on during the week ...

SAUDI: Update on Abqaiq/Khurais attacks
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 15 Sep 2019

Brent oil opened up about $8 in early trading in Asia, one of the sharpest every daily spikes. It now looks like only about a third of the lost 5.7m b/d will come back online by end-Monday. The rest will take weeks. We estimate that there is about another 1.65m b/d in spare capacity at other Saud...

Fed, two summits and many prayers
TURKEY · Report · 15 Sep 2019

Fed FOMC decision and President Erdogan’s summits first with Rouhani and Putin, then with Trump at the sidelines of the UN opening ceremony will set the country risk premium for autumn. There are very low odds for Erdogan convincing Moscow and Tehran to turn over the northern part of the rebel pr...

Ruling by European Court of Justice ruling threatens oil and gas supplies to the EU
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 15 Sep 2019

On September 11 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that Gazprom will have limited access to Opal. Opal is a natural gas pipeline in Germany that is linked to Nord Stream which supplies gas to several EU countries. Germany wants Gazprom to be allowed to supply more gas whereas Poland does n...

SAUDI: The big oil attack we’ve all been waiting for
GULF COUNTRIES · In Brief · 14 Sep 2019

Reports suggest Houthi rebels successfully attacked a crude oil processing facility, handling 5m b/d of Saudi oil output. This is the largest outage in the history of the global oil sector. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has alleged Iran was directly behind the attack.Early indications are tha...

Russian investments abroad almost double
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 14 Sep 2019

On September 13 it was reported in Vedomosti newspaper that Russian investment in foreign startups was USD 860 million in the first half of 2019. This is more than twice as much as in the first six months of 2018 (USD 418 million). In the first six months of 2019 Russian investors have put only U...

Russia considers peace talks with Ukraine
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 13 Sep 2019

On September 13 Russia said it is willing to participate on peace talks about the Ukrainian Conflict. The talks would take place in Paris but no date has yet been set. However, the Kremlin set some preconditions. The warring factions would have to disengage first and special status for Donbass mu...

How important are Hong Kong bank loans for China?
CHINA ADVISORY · Report · 13 Sep 2019

One of the arguments for China’s hands-off approach to Hong Kong has been the importance of Hong Kong as a source of capital. Today we look at the HK banks and ask two questions: 1) Are they significant for China? 2) What is their risk in case of a significant downturn in China?

Russian Police arrest opposition
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 12 Sep 2019

On September 12 police raided 150 buildings associated with opposition campaigners. Veteran anti-corruption campaigner Alexey Navalny has been arrested for the umpteenth time. Navalny's organization is called the Anti-Corruption Foundation. It has been accused of money laundering. The Russian Par...

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