Good news for UK's larger firms, less so for SMEs

Nov 03, 2015 03:14 am UTC| Commentary Economy

The UKs October Manufacturing PMI rose to 55.5, after a marginal upward revision to 51.8 in September. The overall index was upbeat at a 16-month high, considerably above market expectations. The output index...

The ebb and flow of Fed hike expectations

Nov 03, 2015 02:44 am UTC| Commentary Central Banks

Over the past two weeks, market expectations of Fed normalization have rebounded somewhat. Much of this has got to do with the market interpreting the October FOMC outcome to be more hawkish than anticipated. Sensitivity...

Lower interest rates may not necessarily boost loan growth in Indonesia

Nov 03, 2015 02:27 am UTC| Commentary Central Banks

CPI inflation eased to 6.3% (YoY) in October and may fall further towards the year-end, given the high base effects from 4Q14. Note that monthly inflation is negative for the second consecutive month. Bank Indonesia (BI)...

Domestic recovery is well on track in South Korea

Nov 03, 2015 02:19 am UTC| Commentary

Domestic recovery is well on track. Consumption growth is picking up thanks to the end of MERS and the release of pent up demand. As of September, retail sales have been rising for three consecutive months. Consumer...

AUD vigilant against RBA’s stance turning dovish

Nov 03, 2015 02:12 am UTC| Commentary Central Banks

The Australian dollar (AUD) will be paying close attention to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meeting today. With CPI below the official inflation target of 2-3% for the fourth straight quarter in 3Q15, the central...

Will Draghi surprise the markets again?

Nov 02, 2015 17:01 pm UTC| Commentary

The stance at the latest ECB meeting was surprisingly dovish and according to Draghi, the ECB is open to a whole menu of monetary policy instruments. Economists now expect the ECB to cut the deposit rate and extend and...

U.S. manufacturing activity remains on the brink of contraction in October

Nov 02, 2015 16:54 pm UTC| Commentary

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing index was little changed in October, slipping by a marginal 0.1 point to 50.1. The reading was largely in line with consensus expectations, which called for the index...