26 March 2021 President Erdogan's decision to sack Turkey's central bank governor Naci Agbal last week following the CBRT's decision to raise interest rates 200bp has increased volatility in EM currency markets. Is this just the latest episode of Turkish political intrigue? Alternatively, given both Brazil and Russia also lifted key rates, has a more [...]
13 November 2020 Three cheers for the world's scientific community! The recent announcement that an effective vaccine may be on the way is a very welcomed, early Christmas present at the end of a tough year. Of course, there are numerous medical questions and logistical challenges that still must be solved. But, along with everyone [...]
17 April 2020 We have all seen the evidence that investors have deserted Emerging Markets in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Indeed, the following Chart illustrates the liquidation of EM assets has been considerably larger than in past episodes, including the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). As a result, the following Chart illustrates that EM [...]
25 October 2018 We all know China's economy is slowing. Indeed, markets and pundits agonise when GDP results fractionally dip below expectations, as highlighted by the spike in market volatility following the recent news Chinese output advanced "only" 6.5% during Q2 2018 (compared to the 6.6% forecast). To be sure, such results seem disappointing, as [...]