Our Insights

The decades-long boom in Chinese soybean demand has reshaped Brazilian agriculture; it surpassed the US as the biggest producer of this crop in the 2010s.

Meanwhile, American soy farmers, already dealing with greater seasonal swings than their Brazilian counterparts, have lost share in the Chinese market after a decade of trade friction. (Recent negotiations suggest China might step up purchases of US soybeans again.)

For decades after the 1980s asset bubble, Japan was synonymous with stagnant property values. But today, Tokyo’s prices are soaring.

Deadly flooding in southern Brazil this year devastated communities and disrupted key industries. It also worsened inflation. But that financial impact is easing as premiums return to pre-disaster norms.

ISI Emerging Markets Group acquires EPFR to expand global intelligence platform and rebrands as ISI Markets. ISI Markets’ clients will be able to access the most complete picture of institutional and retail investor flows and fund manager allocations driving global markets alongside ISI’s macroeconomic, industry and financial market data.

Outbound investment flows from mainland China have steadily progressed since 2015, with inflows into the nation's international gateway of Hong Kong becoming ever more important.

Markets are somewhat pessimistic about employment in Brazil, but survey data tracked by CEIC suggests sustained positive trends are in place for the nation's job market.

Britain's labour market has stayed robust despite a monetary tightening cycle that pushed borrowing costs to the highest among European developed markets. But high-frequency hiring data is indicating that employers are becoming more cautious.