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UPCOMING WEBINAR - ARGENTINA: UPCOMING TRIGGERS AND REMAINING CONCERNS...

Politics: Citizenry’s Reality Crisis
MEXICO · Report · 19 Aug 2015

The citizenry’s alienation from politics, lack of confidence in parties, and impression that electoral democracy has done little or nothing to improve wellbeing is nothing new or uniquely Mexican, but there has been a special deepening of that crisis of representativeness over the past year. The ...

Economics: FX Conundrum Ahead of Rate Liftoff
MEXICO · Report · 19 Aug 2015

Mexico’s exchange rate has consistently depreciated since the end of the third quarter of 2014, and began to accelerate its climb by last February in a move that took the 48-hour FIX exchange rate from 15.24/USD in March to 15.94 in July and an average of 16.24 pesos per dollar so far in the mont...

Restructuring Frameworks: Economics and Politics
PANAMA · Report · 18 Aug 2015

After covering an updated economic and fiscal outlook from last month, this report assesses the findings of the IMF mission to Panama and the observations and recommendations of its Executive Board. This report will also delve on three relevant issues: the continuity probe on former officials, th...

MPC: Too Little, Too (Still) Convoluted
TURKEY · Report · 18 Aug 2015

The Monetary Policy Committee left all interest rates unchanged today, broadly in line with the consensus. We also thought this course of action was a very high possibility, but, given the ongoing pressures on the lira (that has been inviting the Bank to some sort of action), we had left the door...

​New twists on the way to reelections
TURKEY · In Brief · 17 Aug 2015

As I expected, the 11th hour attempt by PM designate Ahmet Davutoglu to convince MHP leader Bahceli to a coalition failed after a 2.5 hour meeting. Davutoglu indicated he may tender his resignation on Wednesday or Thursday to Erdogan, upon which CHP spokespersons called upon Erdogan to designate ...

Better Performance of the External Accounts
BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 17 Aug 2015

The good news about the Brazilian economy in recent months has been the decline in the current account deficit, which in annualized monthly terms is now only half of the US$ 100 billion level observed in 2014 (Graph 1). The improvement is concentrated in three accounts, which we examine in more d...

MPC: What to Expect Tomorrow
TURKEY · Report · 17 Aug 2015

The CBRT’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet tomorrow. The meeting is an especially interesting one because: 1) it is the first meeting since Governor Basci signaled the Bank’s intention to simplify the monetary policy framework late last month; and 2) it is taking place at a time lira is at an...

COTOPAXI: SERIOUS THREAT OF ERUPTION
ECUADOR · In Brief · 15 Aug 2015

Cotopaxi, the highest active volcano in the world and located close to largely populated areas including Quito, had three important explosions last Friday and the government has raised the alert from yellow to orange. The government has also issued a decree declaring an "state of exception" which...

What happens after new elections?
TURKEY · In Brief · 14 Aug 2015

Once again I take the stage to answer questions from a reader, who shall --as has now become custom--remain unanimous. I do love to field questions from you, but urge all of you who have my private e-mail to use this platform which reduces my workload greatly and facilitates information sharing. ...

Reelections loom on the horizon
TURKEY · In Brief · 13 Aug 2015

Today’s summit between AKP leader Davutoglu and CHP’s Kilicdaroglu failed to produce a break-through, with both leaders declaring that Turkey is probably heading for reelections. We now assign 90% probability to a reelection before the turn of the year, possibly on 22th of November. Yet, as Kilic...

FX Watch
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 13 Aug 2015

China's attempt to pursue a more market-based exchange rate has seen other Asian currencies depreciating alongside it. The impact on the peso has been relatively smaller compared with other neighboring currencies, reflecting robust external accounts. But at a time when exports across the region a...

The PBoC’s currency reform
CHINA FINANCIAL · Report · 12 Aug 2015

On Tuesday the PBoC devalued the RMB by 1.86%, its biggest devaluation since 1994. It also announced a deregulation of the currency regime that will allow the PBoC significantly to reduce intervention. I expect that the PBoC will have to choose between intervening to nearly the same exte...

Economics: Middle Class Sustains Consumption
MEXICO · Report · 12 Aug 2015

Many media outlets have dedicated considerable attention in recent weeks to indicators of Mexico’s middle class in Mexico as part of the broader discussion of recent data confirming a considerable rise in poverty. Based on the information published by the National Council for the Evaluation of...

Politics: Key Preliminaries Ahead of 2018 Race
MEXICO · Report · 12 Aug 2015

The 2018 campaign is now underway. The country’s three main parties are electing new leaderships with an eye toward the next presidential elections. By mid late last week it became obvious that Manlio Fabio Beltrones would face no opposition in his bid to become the next chairman of the govern...

Question Marks Are Growing
HUNGARY · Report · 12 Aug 2015

Moving closer to the end of 2015, an increasingly intriguing question is how the authorities will handle the combination of decelerating output growth, weak domestic investment, rising inflation, the imminent decrease of development grants from the EU and the continued inactivity seen at domestic...