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COUNTRY INSIGHTS

Public Protector’s job under pressure
SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 27 Aug 2019 · 1 response

​In 1995, the office of the Public Protector (PP) was established, and so far, four people have held the office, with Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane occupying the position currently. The PP forms part of the six independent state institutions established by South Africa’s Constitution in an effort t...

Leave those bad times to rest
CHILE · Report · 27 Aug 2019

Growth was again low in Q2. We expect some recovery in H2, due mostly to a base effect. But amid growing concern over global slowdown, and the most recent escalation of the U.S.-China trade war, we aren’t particularly optimistic about q/q expansion. This leads us to cut our 2019 GDP growth projec...

Trump keen to bring Russia back into G7
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 27 Aug 2019

A row has broken out in the G7 about the readmission of Russia. Russia was expelled from the group of major economies in 2014 due to the Ukrainian situation. President Trump is eager to bring Russia back in. Most countries are adamant that this must not happen unless Russia changes course majorly...

A tale of many different speeds
VENEZUELA · In Brief · 26 Aug 2019

A new but still incipient dynamic hints that political negotiations could bear fruit. Meanwhile, actors play on multiple boards seeking to strengthen their negotiating position or to cover themselves if talks fail. Members of the Norwegian government facilitation team visited Caracas in mid-Augus...

​A Trump-Rouhani meeting is unlikely to resolve Iran crisis
GULF COUNTRIES · In Brief · 26 Aug 2019

There has been growing talk today of a Trump-Rouhani meeting in the aftermath of the surprise appearance of Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the G7 summit yesterday. Macron, who had spoken to both presidents, said that the conditions are right for a meeting, potentially wi...

Economics: Current account balance during 2Q 2019
MEXICO · Report · 26 Aug 2019

During the second quarter of 2019, the current account balance registered a net surplus of 5.14 billion dollars, the highest such level since officials began publishing the data roughly four decades ago. In fact, Mexico hadn’t registered a current account surplus since the second quarter of 2010....

The Amazon issue and other weekly topics
BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 26 Aug 2019

Fires in the Amazon remain in the news. President Bolsonaro meets with governors from the North region on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Senator Tasso Jereissati (PSDB-CE) presents his report on Pension Reform in the Constitution and Justice Committee. On Friday, August 30, the government sends Congress ...

Tomorrow's Monetary Council: Cautious optimism, no measure likely
HUNGARY · In Brief · 26 Aug 2019

The August rate-setting meeting of the Monetary Council is scheduled for tomorrow. Essentially, there are no analysts on the market who would expect any change of the base rate for now or indeed for the rest of 2019. Actually, no interest rate measure of any kind is expected for the rest of the y...

Politics: New cracks in the governing coalition
MEXICO · Report · 26 Aug 2019

It was just a matter of time before the ideologically and socially heterogeneous coalition held together by nothing aside from Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s leadership and political coattails would begin to feel the strain once in power, especially when it came time to concretize public policies ...

Interventions in the foreign exchange market
BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 26 Aug 2019 · 2 responses

The Central Bank can intervene in the foreign exchange market by either buying and selling dollars in the spot market or through currency swap transactions. In all cases, these interventions have the aim of reducing the volatility of the real, not actions that prevent the exchange rate from chang...

BoI expected to move to a more dovish forward guidance
ISRAEL · Report · 26 Aug 2019

Recent economic indicators released last week point to steady growth: The BoI Composite index increased by 0.19% m/m in July, export services increased by 9.8% saar in Q2 2019, and total revenues of the economy increased by 4.1% saar in Q2. We expect a rate-hold decision on Wednesday, with a ...

Uzbek currency to float freely
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 26 Aug 2019

On August 20 it was announced that the Uzbek currency (the UZS (pronounced 'Som')) will float freely. Up until now the Uzbek Government had a cap on the currency's daily fluctuations and the government limited a citizen's right to buy other currencies. This is part of the government's liberalizat...

President of Turkmenistan disproves rumors of death
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 26 Aug 2019

After weeks of speculation that he is dead the President of Turkmenistan has made some public appearances. Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov hosted a conference in Turkmenistan on August 12. The Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was among those who attended. Berdymukhamedov appeared only slightly d...

​Gulf weekly: Kuwait's emir has a health scare
GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 25 Aug 2019

The Gulf has begun to wake up from the long summer and Eid holidays. Notable policy developments over the last week included an extension of customs duties in the UAE (a move other Gulf states are likely to emulate) and further moves towards the Aramco IPO. Tension with Iran and in Yemen continue...

Government evaluation
BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 23 Aug 2019

VEJA/FSB Survey: Divided electorate and Bolsonaro's favoritism in 2022 The poll conducted by the FSB institute and published in Veja magazine shows that voters are divided over Jair Bolsonaro's government. While 48% of respondents disapprove of his governing style, 44% support it.

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