NEWS FLASH

UPCOMING WEBINAR - PANAMA IN FOCUS: US RELATIONS, CANAL STRATEGY AND FI...

Datafolha: Bolsonaro leads; Ciro, Marina, Alckmin and Haddad fight for second
BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 11 Sep 2018

The poll released yesterday, September 10, by Datafolha after ten days of electoral ads on radio and TV and the first poll conducted after the stabbing of candidate Jair Bolsonaro (PSL) shows that Bolsonaro continues to consolidate his vote, and at this time is the closest to securing a spot in t...

Much ado about (almost) nothing
VENEZUELA · In Brief · 10 Sep 2018

According to the government, Exchange Agreement 1 dated September 7, 2018 brings free convertibility, a market-determined single floating exchange rate, and legal security in forex matters. But very little has changed. There is no free convertibility. Forex can only be traded through authorized e...

Q&A on the impact of the Bolsonaro attack and other weekly topics
BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 10 Sep 2018

The week begins with questions regarding the recovery of presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro (PSL). Polls released throughout the week should capture the impact of the knife attack he suffered last Thursday, September 6. Fernando Haddad will officially become the candidate of the PT. Minister D...

A climate of uncertainty leading to opposite scenarios
BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 10 Sep 2018

Brazil is in the midst of a fiscal crisis that is still in latent state, and may or may not become an open crisis. In October a new president will be elected, and it is not known on what diagnosis the next government will base its economic policy actions, or if there will be sufficient congressio...

Economics: Slowing apparent in the latest GDP sectoral results
MEXICO · Report · 10 Sep 2018

The weakness of GDP during the second quarter was largely due to slackened growth in manufacturing and construction and the long-term trend toward a substantial erosion of Mexico’s oil and gas platform. Despite the United States’ imposition of import taxes on Mexican-made steel products, the ...

BTG Pactual presidential poll
BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 10 Sep 2018

A BTG Pactual poll conducted after the Jair Bolsonaro (PSL) stabbing was recently released. The poll was contracted by FSB/BTG Pactual and was conducted on September 8-9. This report analyzes the main results.

Weakness of gross fixed capital formation
BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 10 Sep 2018

The decline of gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) was the factor that caused the greatest disappointment in the announcement of the GDP numbers for the second quarter. Based on our monthly indicator of GFCF, it is clear that part of that result was due to the truckers’ strike. However, not only...

Crisis management
ARGENTINA · Report · 10 Sep 2018

These days, Macri´s administration has faced its second significant market run against the peso since the devaluation in May, which forced it to accelerate its macroeconomic convergence plan. This comprises reversing the excessive debt levels of the Central Bank and improving the poor fiscal outl...

MNB expects CPI-inflation to have peaked at 3.4% in July
HUNGARY · In Brief · 10 Sep 2018

Tomorrow at 9am BUD time, the KSH will come forward with its August CPI-inflation data. Analysts expect 3.3% yoy, slightly down from the 3.4% actual measured for July. The MNB previously predicted the same outcome, somewhat ambitiously adding that the yoy headline rate may have actually peaked in...

Growth loses momentum, as expected
TURKEY · Report · 10 Sep 2018

The Turkish economy grew by 5.2%, y/y, and 0.9%, q/q, in the second quarter of 2018, broadly in line with expectations, which corresponds to a noticeable slowdown over the previous quarter – from Q1's (downwardly-revised) 7.3% and 1.5% growth rates, respectively. On the expenditure side, the m...

AKP's education by fire
TURKEY · Report · 09 Sep 2018

Skirmishes and preemptive air raids started in the Idlib Province, where more than 3.5 million Syrians wait in fear of an Assad campaign. The tri-partite Summit in Tehran failed to find a peaceful solution to the approaching human tragedy, as Russia and Iran rejected Turkey’s proposal of a truce....

Bolsonaro: Aftermath of the attack
BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 08 Sep 2018

​There is no doubt that Jair Bolsonaro (PSL) benefits electorally from the knife attack he suffered on Thursday (September 6) in Juiz de Fora (MG), which left him seriously injured. Not only does the episode present him as a victim of the violence that he fought against but also as a victim of t...

Politics: How the new Congress is shaping up
MEXICO · Report · 07 Sep 2018

It had long been known that President-elect Manuel Andrés López Obrador’s Morena party would enjoy a majority in both chambers of Congress with a little help from its coalition partners, but last minute reshuffling and political maneuvering means its caucus will wield an outright majority in the ...

Jair Bolsonaro stabbed
BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 06 Sep 2018 · 1 response

The presidential candidate for the PSL party, Jair Bolsonaro, was attacked with a knife in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais. He was stabbed in the abdomen. The candidate is undergoing surgery. The knife may have pierced his liver. The episode will certainly have an impact on the campaign and wil...

South Africa’s current account deficit contracts, providing some relief from piling negative economic trends
SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 06 Sep 2018

The South African trade balance switched from a deficit of R15.2 billion in the first quarter of 2018 to a surplus of R41.9 billion in the second quarter. On the other hand, the shortfall on the services, income and current transfer account widened slightly from R204.2 billion in the first quarte...