Eastern European equities rose again on Wednesday, after record GDP figures from Singapore raised hopes for strong Chinese growth data later this week. Equity rises, along with news of a two-month peak for the euro against the dollar, provided a small boost for the region’s currencies.

In Romania, the Bucharest index continued to bounce back from its torrid session on Monday – rising a further 1.4% today to 4,844.14. Continue reading »

If it’s a struggle to be really bullish about Indian equities – see the note below about Morgan Stanley – it’s even harder to be positive about many of the economies of central and eastern Europe.

Erste Bank has a go in a report called Resuscitation of Consumption in CEE , a title which itself conjures up images of corpses staggering back into life. The sub-heading is ‘consumption to finally revive next year’, which, of course, implies – correctly – that it won’t be reviving much this year. Continue reading »