JAPAN: Suga still politically vulnerable as state of emergency extended
On Tuesday, 2 February, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced that he would extend the state of emergency scheduled to end on 7 February by one month, to 7 March. Although case numbers have fallen since the state of emergency was first declared in early January, the government … Become a member to read the […]
INDIA: A growth budget in a pandemic year
For the first time since the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) came to power in 2014, the government has presented a budget that has drawn praise from all sections of stakeholders across India’s diverse political economy, barring opposition parties. However, th… Become a member to read the rest of this article
ITALY: Mediator struggling
President Sergio Mattarella will meet the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Roberto Fico, this evening (2 February). Recall that last week, Fico was tasked by Mattarella to lead the efforts to find a compromise between the parties that supported the last government led by Prime… Become a member to read the rest of […]
Currency seasonality’s slow comeback?
This report updates the monthly seasonal patterns of 31 major Nominal Effective Exchange Rates (NEERs) going back to January 2010, using over two million daily data points with trade-weights derived from the BIS (April 2019) and national central banks (see Nominal Effective Excha… Become a member to read the rest of this article
FRANCE: Macron’s risky bet
Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on 29 January that the government would not impose the widely expected third nationwide lockdown to limit the spread of Covid-19 infections. President Emmanuel Macron’s last-minute U-turn, which goes against his scientific advisors’ opinion, r… Become a member to read the rest of this article
SOUTH AFRICA: First vaccine progress as second wave eases
Late on 1 February, on the day when the first 1mn Covid-19 vaccines had arrived in the country, President Cyril Ramaphosa was able to deliver somewhat better news around the vaccine rollout. Around 40mn-50mn vaccine doses now seem to be in the pipeline (which could represent a si… Become a member to read the […]
MACRO: Policy responses to Covid-19
Below is this year’s first summary table on the health and economic policies that selected governments around the world are implementing to counter the fallout from Covid-19. The updated table includes information about each country’s vaccination strategy. Please do not hesitate … Become a member to read the rest of this article