Igor Kuchma

China’s Zero-Tolerance COVID-19 Policy has come at a significant cost. According to recent data, the country’s economic growth rate is losing speed, prompting questions over the full-year perspectives. Industrial production rose 3.8% over the year from 3.7% a month earlier, semiconductor production fell 16.6%, and the purchasing managers’ index fell to 49 points. Analysts at...

So far, the year 2022 has brought nothing but problems. Together with wars, pandemics, inflation, supply-chain bottlenecks, and energy crisis, we are facing a variety of natural disasters. Following South Korea and China, the center of Japan was hit by a typhoon. In the coastal prefecture of Shizuoka, more than 72 thousand people were evacuated. […]

According to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, the British economy is on the threshold of a recession. Some reports suggest that the country is already heading towards stagflation, as the cost of living crisis has devastating consequences for household incomes. It is also projected that unemployment could exceed 5% in the next […]

It was a tough half of the year for the green industry. According to the Institute of International Finance, ESG funds saw inflows halve in Q1 2022 amidst geopolitical tension and the energy crisis. ESG Q1 fund flows of $75 billion were at their lowest level in seven quarters. IIF data also showed that flows […]

Year to date, the pair USD/INR grew by more than 7%. The weakening of the local currency could be explained on the one hand by the withdrawal of foreign investors from the “Jewel in the Crown” and on the other hand by the strengthening of the dollar, rising energy prices, and a high level of […]

In the midst of economic and financial instability, the number of defaults in the emerging markets might rise dramatically. The preliminary data suggests that the problem bonds could amount to $237 billion. No wonder investors have begun to dump emerging market bonds. Debt restructuring will require countries to undertake fiscal and economic reforms. In addition […]

According to the minutes of the last ECB meeting, the members of the regulator do not rule out a sharper increase in the interest rate. It is hard to say how relevant this information is today. Nevertheless, taking into account the threat of fragmentation and recession, it is unlikely that they will “go wild”. Still, […]

Last Monday Christine Lagarde announced the regulator’s intention to raise the policy rate by 25 basis points at the July meeting. She also said that the Central bank’s goal is to keep borrowing costs under control for the eurozone’s most indebted members. Curiously, in 2020 Lagarde said it was not the ECB’s task to “tighten […]

The situation compels. The Federal Open Market Committee members voted for yet another rate hike. The new range is 1.5-1.75%. Thus, the regulator looks forward to slowdown the inflation pressures in the country. It should be mentioned that the balance sheet reduction plan remains unchanged changed: from 1 June, it will be reduced at a […]

As expected,  ECB officials pointed to a possible interest rate hike of 0.25% in July and a further tightening in September.  On the inflation side, they expect a figure of around 6.8% in 2022, 3.5% in 2023, and 2.1% in 2024. The report cites the conflict in Ukraine as the main reason for the deteriorating […]