Brexit, Emerging Markets, and Venezuela in the News
from Macro and Markets

Brexit, Emerging Markets, and Venezuela in the News

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Three things to think about today.

  1.  If you haven’t already done so, subscribe now to my colleague Brad Setser’s blog, which provides excellent commentary on global macro issues. His most recent piece makes a compelling case for European fiscal action against the backdrop of a meaningful UK and European growth shock, a point that I very much agree with (listen also to my conversation with Jim Lindsay and Sebastian Mallaby here).
  2. I remain puzzled that this industrial country growth shock has not had a broader effect on emerging markets. Reports are that portfolio outflows from EM were minor on Friday, with some recovery this week. One view is that as long as China’s economy remains on track, commodity prices hold up, and the Fed is on hold, emerging markets should weather the Brexit shock. Conversely, the IMF has worried that declining trend growth in the emerging world reflects a rising vulnerability to globalization.
  3. The humanitarian situation in Venezuela has become critical. I have focused in past blogs on the severe economic consequences of the crisis, and the need for a comprehensive, IMF-backed reform effort, supported by substantial financing and debt restructuring. China’s recent agreement to push back debt payments due recognizes the inevitable but is unlikely to provide additional free cash flow to the government or the state energy company PDVSA. For investors, default now looks to be coming soon.

 

More on:

Europe

Budget, Debt, and Deficits

International Organizations

Economic Crises

Economics