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BMI Research recently held a webinar in which we presented our Emerging Markets Key Themes (see 'Emerging Markets Key Themes Chartpack', February 9). Here, we outline our answers to some of the topical questions that came up in the Q&A session.

What is your outlook for services trade versus merchandise trade?

We expect services trade growth to

South Africa's mining sector will continue to face headwinds from policy uncertainty regarding the passing of the draft mining charter, hindering the potential of a recovery since 2016 from becoming solid. We forecast the domestic mining industry value to continue to decline over the coming years.

South Africa's mining sector will continue to feel

South Korea's construction industry will continue to grow at elevated rates through 2019, but momentum will slow afterward as property-market cooling measures take effect and as major infrastructure projects reach completion.

We have upgraded our forecast for South Korea's construction industry in light of more recent data and expect growth to

Asia and Latin America will be the fastest-growing regions for hot drink sales over our 2017-2021 forecast period. Coffee will be the outperforming category across emerging markets, driven by rising incomes and high levels of investment by multinational food and drink companies. Product innovation, particularly in terms of healthy and ready-to

The collapse of the healthcare reform bill promoted by President Donald Trump and Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan bolsters our view that Trump's legislative agenda would not proceed smoothly, and that tax cuts and economic reforms would ultimately disappoint lofty expectations. Furthermore, Washington gridlock raises the risks of the White House

We see room for additional upside for Chilean equities over the coming weeks and possibly even months, following a highly bullish break higher for the MSCI Chile equity index. The index broke through key technical resistance at 1,606 on March 16, a highly bullish technical signal, setting Chilean stocks up for a higher trading range. We see little

With economic nationalism on the rise globally, highlighted by the election of Donald Trump as US president, the future of the global trade regime is increasingly in doubt. BMI's country risk and industry sector teams have assessed the potential risks and opportunities for corporates and investors in this new reality for world trade. In many ways

The Bank of Zambia will continue to cut its key policy rate over 2017, after having reduced rates for the first time in five years in February. Inflation will remain in single digits over the year, and this will enable the central bank to take a more dovish monetary policy stance.

We expect the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) will enter a gradual rate

Fiscal consolidation in South Africa will continue to be stymied by sluggish economic growth and political pressure to overspend in the coming years. While the deficit is likely to narrow in the upcoming budget cycle, it will not hit the government's targets.

Fiscal consolidation will continue in South Africa in the years ahead, albeit at a more

Although we do not anticipate US military action against North Korea in the near term, the possibility will grow as Pyongyang comes closer to achieving the ability to deliver a nuclear strike on the continental United States. In this scenario, we consider the implications of the US attacking North Korea.

North Korea continues to make progress in