Articles

Angola's short term production downgrade reflects the higher decline rates at producing fields, leaving Angola producing below its allocated OPEC quota. The start up of Kaombo in 2018 will help support production, but a serious lack of investment stemming from weak market conditions and a poor operating environment limits Angola's long term

We have elected to maintain our robust growth outlook for the Qatari construction industry in 2017 even as the diplomatic rift between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours disrupts the import of goods into the market. Our view is underpinned by the government's effort to secure its building materials supply chain for at least two months and our view that

Johnson & Johnson's latest collection of agreements span its medical device and pharmaceutical units, highlighting the synergies here. The collaborations are all at an early stage, and are in high-growth markets and the technologies sector which should serve to maintain the position J&J currently has in orthopaedic devices and immunology drugs, and

We forecast substantial production gains the MENA region, with broadly level growth in both oil and gas. On the consumption side, increasing domestic supply and state-led support for oil-to-gas switching in the power sector will see gas consumption growth outstrip growth in demand for fuels.

To highlight the key themes that inform our Middle East

With interest rates at or close to record lows in most DM countries,it may seem like cash is the worst possible investment, but we believe that there is a strong case to be made from a risk-reward perspective. The ultra-loose monetary conditions that have been in placeforover most of the past decade have pushed risk assets to the point where the

We have revised our soybean price forecasts downward, but still expect prices to average slightly higher than spot levels in the coming years. The global soybean market will register small deficits as global demand growth, led by China, remains steady. By contrast, supply growth will slow due to reduced growth in plantings and yields.

Short-Term

South Africa's recently published revisions to its mining charter will undermine already weak investment, offering further headwinds to the economic growth outlook. Aside from the direct headwinds to the mining sector due to a higher cost of compliance, the new charter further signals that the ruling African National Congress is moving ahead with

Despite weak Q1 data leading us to revise down our growth forecasts in 2017, we maintain a broadly constructive outlook on prospects for Nigeria's economic recovery over the coming quarters. In addition to increasing oil output, an improvement in FX liquidity will boost investor sentiment.

Nigeria's economy will post a modest recovery over our

Walmart faces ongoing challenges in its international operations. We review the company's shifting strategy in China, the ongoing risks in Latin America and the potential for Walmart to expand in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Walmart's international operations accounted for 24.1% of sales and reached USD116.1bn in FY2016. Walmart has seen this percentage