ING Economic and Financial Analysis

China's exports were expected to grow in August due to a low base effect. Instead, they fell 1% year-on-yearExports and imports were weak China's exports were weaker than expected in August, falling...

At least some relief for the economy, as exports increased in July. The outlook, however, has not improvedThe numbers Trade figures just brought some relief for the battered German economy. In July,...

The People's Bank of China announced RRR cuts of 0.5 percentage points. This policy action aims to lower the interest costs of small firms and stave off defaultsPBoC cuts RRR The PBoC announced a 0.5...

The headwinds facing the U.S. economy are building, as trade tensions intensify and evidence of global economic weakness spreads. Given this backdrop, we have cut our 2020 GDP growth forecast to 1.3%...

We believe that China has changed its strategy when it comes to the trade war, and that could lead to further market volatility. In terms of economic growth, it seems the strategy of boosting...

Fitch has downgraded Hong Kong to AA from AA+ with a negative outlook. Though we agree that the governance has deteriorated recently, we believe the situation will change when there is an election of...

Disappointing industrial production data adds to the case for policy actionIndustrial production took another nosedive. In July, German industrial production dropped by 0.6% month-on-month from a...

Order book deflation turns into industrial slump. Latest industrial data is another disappointmentOuch. The downward spiral of German industry continues. Industrial new orders dropped by 2.5%...

A decisive week for UK politics as British lawmakers return from their summer recess and race against the clock before parliament is suspended. Midweek, all eyes will be on the Canadian and Swedish...

In unadjusted terms, this is the worst August performance of the German labour market since reunification and the poor performance is adding to recession fearsGerman unemployment increased by 43,900...

Details of 2Q GDP data show some bright spots but the short-term outlook for the economy still points to stagnationSome things get better the more we look at them. This is actually the case with the...

China industrial profits turned positive in July, mostly because of support from infrastructure projects and a technically low base last year. Both factors will continue to support industrial profits'...

More bad news out of Germany. Another horrible Ifo reading weakens hopes for a rebound of the economy from its own strengthThe just-released most prominent leading indicator, the Ifo index, instead...

That is the main message from the just-released minutes of ECB's July meeting which stress the central bank's growing concerns about both the growth and inflation outlook. A 20bp deposit rate cut, a...

China announced liberalisation of its interest rate system on 17th August. This takes it one step closer to a free-floating currency but of course, progress will be slow. Net interest margins for...

Chinese industrial output reaches a 17-year low, echoing the recent slow credit growth. It's the result of the government opting for stability rather than speedy growth. But it also shows that without...