Top Economics Influencers to Follow

Meet 73 Top Economists Worth Following From Across the FocusEconomics Network

If you are reading this article, it’s probably because you’re interested in economics, or in what’s going on in the world economy. You might be a business owner or employee, investor, student, or indeed perhaps an economist yourself. And what better time to read from economists across the FocusEconomics analyst panel than now?

With the U.S. President seeking to roll back globalization, the world economy has become a moving target, ever more elusive and ever trickier to predict. But one of the enduring pillars of globalization—the internet—means we can still learn and teach about the world economy in a way that is far easier than our ancestors could ever have conceived.

This article shares with you 73 economists whose commentary on the world economy is insightful, sharp, and often entertaining. They work for a variety of banks, consultancies and other firms across the FocusEconomics panel, including Capital Economics, Fitch Ratings and many more. Their analysis covers a wide range of the 198 countries and 40 commodities that FocusEconomics provides Consensus Forecasts for.

1,243 economists provide projections as part of the FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast. The point of boiling this number down to a list of just 73 is to provide you as the reader a bite-sized chunk of the huge offering of top-quality economic analysis that is available worldwide—in the same way that FocusEconomics seeks to aggregate various economic projections into one simple average: The Consensus Forecast.

Skip ahead to the region or topic that interests you most:

If you have any questions or feedback on this article, please contact our Panelist Manager Alina Petryk at apetryk@focus-economics.com.

Asia

Taimur Baig

Taimur Baig is Managing Director at DBS Bank, which received nine FocusEconomics Forecaster Awards this year, with a particularly strong showing for countries on home turf—the ASEAN region. Baig himself bagged a second-place award for his U.S. inflation forecasts. He hosts the Kopi Time podcast, and regularly shares media appearances and ad-hoc analyses, arguing in one that, after a strong showing in Q2, Asian economies are likely to have slowed in Q3.

Carlos Casanova

Carlos Casanova is Managing Director and Senior Economist at UBP, and won awards this year from FocusEconomics for various Asian countries, including for being the best forecaster of Hong Kong’s GDP. Casanova shares UBP’s research generously, including a detailed six-page report available to read on LinkedIn on the last week’s developments in the Asian economy.

Hak Bin Chua

Hak Bin Chua is Maybank’s Regional Co-Head of macro research, and this year scooped FocusEconomics Forecaster Awards with colleague Brian Lee Shun Rong for Singapore’s current and fiscal balances. Chua is regularly quoted in print media, including the Straits Times, and shares the relevant excerpts on LinkedIn—an insightful and speedy way of learning more about Singapore’s economy.

Alex Holmes

Alex Holmes is the EIU’s Regional Director for the Asia-Pacific, having joined the company last year from Oxford Economics. If you want to hear about the latest cutting research on Asia in a prose that’s peppy and entertaining, Holmes is definitely worth following. In one of his recent posts, Holmes reminded his readers of the EIU’s view last year that global chip demand would bolster Asian exports ahead—a crucial question to examine in an age of rising U.S. tariffs.

Kalyani Honrao

The EIU’s Kalyani Honrao—a relative newcomer compared to some of the other names on this list—is definitely worth following if you are interested in south Asian economies. She won FocusEconomics Awards both this year and last for her projections about Bangladesh’s economy, a country she posts about regularly on LinkedIn. In a recent post, she highlights a recent appearance in the Globe and Mail in which she examines the parallels between Nepal and Bangladesh’s recent political shifts.

Kelvin Lam

Kelvin Lam is Senior China and North Asia Economist for Pantheon Macroeconomics. Along with colleague Duncan Wrigley, Lam was recognized this year by FocusEconomics as the most accurate forecaster of China’s inflation rate. On LinkedIn Lam regularly shares his media appearances, including recently one on the BBC World Service discussing talks between the Chinese and U.S. leaders.

Yun Liu

Yun Liu covers ASEAN for HSBC, and was recognized as one of the top-three best forecasters of Malaysia’s economy in this year’s FocusEconomics Forecaster Awards. As well as sharing her thoughts on the likely impact of U.S. tariffs on ASEAN economies, Liu is active at conferences and in the media, recently appearing on CNBC to talk about the impact of Fed decisions on ASEAN central banks—a vital topic for those to follow that are interested in the region.

Euben Paracuelles

Euben Paracuelles is the Chief ASEAN Economist at Nomura, covering key economies in the region including the Philippines, a country for which he was recognized as one of the top-three best overall forecasters in the latest FocusEconomics Awards. Paracuelles writes regularly on LinkedIn about Nomura’s podcasts and research, building on nearly 30 years of experience.

Nick Marro

Nick Marro is Principal Economist at EIU, covering Asia. This year, he was recognized by FocusEconomics as the second-most accurate forecaster for Taiwan, an economy whose exports have consistently surged by over 30% in the past months on booming AI demand. Marro recently shared his recent interview on CNBC, examining what Taiwan will need to do to keep up its strong export momentum in the face of rising U.S. tariffs.

Allan Von Mehren

Allan Von Mehren, Chief Analyst at Danske Bank and a member of our panel, is a keen watcher of China’s economy. In a recent post von Mehren offers snappy analyses regarding China’s latest monthly data dump, suggesting that a weakening of retail sales growth points to continued soft consumer spending and downbeat figures for home prices and sales augur a still-sluggish housing market.

Adam Ahmad Samdin

Singapore-based Adam Ahmad Samdin works for Oxford Economics as an Economist, with his current focus being on the economies of Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam. A member of our panel, Samdin shares regular analyses about the region’s economy, as well as insightful excerpts from appearances in media and events, including recently as part of the National Youth Council’s Our Singapore Leadership Programme, stating that “our economy isn’t just about GDP, but about people, too. If we take care of the latter, attaining the former becomes easier.”

Marcel Thieliant

Marcel Thieliant heads Capital Economics’ Asia-Pacific department, and is a member of our panel for economies in the region. This year, he was recognized as the most accurate forecaster
of Japan’s economy in our Forecaster Awards. Thieliant’s posts on LinkedIn bridge recent developments in Asian economies in an accessible way, making use of eye-catching charts combined with pithy analysis.

Jason Tuvey

Jason Tuvey works as Capital Economics’ Deputy Chief Emerging Markets Economist. Along with colleague David Omojomolo, he won seven FocusEconomics Forecast Awards this year, notably for exchange and interest rates in a number of fast-growing sub-Saharan African economies. Tuvey recently moved to covering EM economies in Asia, whose struggles with rising trade barriers he posts analysis about on LinkedIn.

Khai Jhek Woon

Kuala Lumpur-based Khai Jhek Woon, RAM Group’s Head of Economic Research, was awarded this year a FocusEconomics Award for his Malaysia GDP projections. If you’re curious about the nation’s economy, Woon is a must-follow. In one recent entertaining post, Woon argues that the Malaysian government’s recent RM100 cash scheme is a “timely ‘fiscal caffeine’”, but that the real task now is to change the economy’s “diet”, with a focus on structural reforms.

Tianchen Xu

Tianchen Xu, Senior Economist at the EIU, contributes to our panel for Asian economies, recently scooping two awards for his projections for Mongolia in this year’s FocusEconomics Awards. On LinkedIn, Xu, who previously worked for the United Nations, the Financial Times and Bloomberg, provides snappy summaries of the latest economic data and developments for China. In one recent post, he unpicked the details of China’s latest five-year plan, highlighting that the country achieved most of the goals set in the preceding blueprint.

Australia and New Zealand

Andrew Ticehurst

An employee of Nomura for over 10 years, Sydney-based Andrew Ticehurst was ranked as the most accurate forecaster of New Zealand’s economy and Australia’s GDP this year. Ticehurst regularly hosts on Nomura’s The Week Ahead podcast, discussing must-follow topics such as monetary policy decisions by the U.S. Fed, and also frequently appears in media.

Eastern Europe

Zsolt Becsey

Zsolt Becsey is Chief Economist at UniCredit Hungary, and this year won a FocusEconomics Award for his projections regarding Hungary’s interest rates. Becsey’s posts on LinkedIn—in Hungarian but easily translatable on LinkedIn—often specialize in comparative analyses of Hungary’s economy vs its peers, including one recently in which he argues that the country is one of the most exposed to U.S. tariffs.

Dmitry Dolgin

Dmitry Dolgin is ING’s Chief CIS and Russia Economist, clinching 14 FocusEconomics Forecast Awards in 2025 for economies such as Armenia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Dolgin publishes a monthly update on the health of the “CIS-4” economies (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan), perfect for those readers who want to peer deeper into this promising and sometimes obscure region.

Tomas Dvorak

Central and Eastern European economies, particularly the Czech Republic, are a key focus for Tomas Dvorak, a Senior Economist at Oxford Economics. Recognized in our Awards this year as one of the most accurate forecasters of the country’s GDP and interest rates, Dvorak recently pored over the possible Czech election results and their implications for GDP, government spending and inflation.

Martin Gürtler

Martin Gürtler is Senior Economist at Komerční banka, and came in the top three of this year’s FocusEconomics Award for most accurate overall forecaster for the Czech Republic. Gürtler regularly shares Komerční banka’s latest analyses on the Czech economy, providing easy-to-digest summaries that are written in Czech but which are easily translatable on LinkedIn.

Orsolya Nyeste

If you’re interested in Hungary’s economy, then the analysis shared by Orsolya Nyeste, Erste Bank’s Senior Analyst for the country, will be worth checking out. Her posts, in Hungarian but easily translatable on LinkedIn, recently included a comparative analysis of monetary policy in Central Europe, plus Erste Bank’s latest quarterly outlook for Hungary’s economy.

Dan Ridler

Dan Ridler is a Senior Analyst for the Eastern European region at the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), and bagged nine FocusEconomics Forecast Awards this year, including for North Macedonia, Montenegro and Ukraine. The Ukraine-Russia war is a key interest for Ridler, and he covers developments in the conflict regularly on his LinkedIn page.

Euro area

Fabio Balboni

HSBC’s Fabio Balboni specializes in southern European countries, recently winning FocusEconomics Awards this year for his Italy, Portugal and Spain forecasts. Balboni publishes a weekly summary of the latest macroeconomic developments in Europe on his LinkedIn page, recently writing that “risks to the ECB rates outlook are still to the downside”, citing a host of disinflationary forces including a stronger euro and softer energy costs.

Franziska Marie Biehl

Franziska Marie Biehl, Senior Economist at ING, was recently awarded FocusEconomics Forecaster Awards for Austria alongside colleague Carsten Brzeski. Biehl regularly posts on LinkedIn, with some intriguing and thoughtful takes on the Austrian and German economies, sharing research and a podcast produced with Brzeski.

Carsten Brzeski

Carsten Brzeski is ING’s Global Head of Macro Research and Chief Eurozone Economist, with over 17 years of experience at the bank. He leads the ING’s flagship Monthly Update, cleverly framing the latest month’s economic developments in striking visual imagery, pop culture and witty puns.

Lorenzo Codogno

Lorenzo Codogno, founder of the firm Lorenzo Codogno Macro Advisors, is an expert on the Italian economy, recently examining its Q2 GDP data in a recent post on LinkedIn. Codogno, a visiting professor at the College of Europe in London, secured two Forecaster Awards from FocusEconomics this year for Italy. He also regularly posts about the Eurozone economy, in particular ECB rate decisions.

Charles-Henri Colombier

Paris-based Charles-Henri Colombier is Director of Macroeconomic Analysis at Rexecode, and this year came first place in the FocusEconomics Awards for French bond rate forecasts. Recent posts—written in French but easily translatable on LinkedIn—have included a look into Italy’s recent catching-up in GDP per capita in purchasing parity power terms with France, with Colombier arguing in an eloquent turn of phrase that this may be more a “statistical mirage” rather than an “economic miracle”.

Denis Ferrand

Another economist from Rexecode who is worth following is Denis Ferrand, Executive General Manager of the firm. Ferrand won a FocusEconomics Award for this year for his forecasts regarding France’s fiscal balance. In a recent post, Ferrand posits that rather than fixating solely on the European Union’s fiscal rules when assessing the health of France’s finances, readers should also consider the fact that public spending growth is set to outpace potential GDP growth in the coming years—a worrying path.

Johan Van Gompel

KBC’s Senior Economist Johan Van Gompel, based in Brussels, won our best overall forecaster award this year for Belgium. Van Gompel’s recent research published on his LinkedIn includes a report covering Belgium’s housing market, as well as a SWOT analysis of Belgium’s industrial sector prepared for a committee of the country’s parliament.

Marcel Klok

ING’s Marcel Klok covers the Dutch economy. In 2024, he received a best overall forecaster award for the Netherlands from FocusEconomics. Klok’s posts—in Dutch but easily translatable on LinkedIn—have recently broached topics like ongoing weakness in consumer spending in the Netherlands, as well as ING’s latest economic forecasts for the country.

Daniel Kral

Oxford Economics’ Daniel Kral contributes forecasts to the FocusEconomics panel for a number of countries, including Finland and Slovenia, two countries for which he was recognized by FocusEconomics as one of the top-three most accurate forecasters this year. Kral is active on both LinkedIn and X, and shares his analysis on European economies in bite-sized chunks accompanied by easy-on-the-eye graphs.

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Jörg Krämer

Jörg Krämer is Chief Economist at Commerzbank, and honorary professor at the University of Münster. Krämer’s research team received six FocusEconomics Forecaster Awards this year, including for their projections regarding German bond yields and GDP. Krämer’s writing on LinkedIn has recently covered topics including an outlook on Germany’s car industry—a vital question given the challenges posed by the switch to electric vehicles, competition from China, and U.S. tariffs.

Tadas Povilauskas

If you want to know about the Lithuanian economy, SEB’s Tadas Povilauskas is definitely worth following on LinkedIn. Povilauskas was recognized this year by FocusEconomics as the third-most accurate forecaster for the country, and regularly posts about the latest economic data and developments in the country. For example, he recently crunched Lithuania’s latest inflation figures and their implications for the nation’s price outlook ahead.

Arne Maes

Arne Maes is Senior Economist for BNP Paribas, focusing on Belgium’s economy. This year, he won a FocusEconomics Award for his Belgium inflation projections, and on his LinkedIn, he regularly shares updates to a quarterly Belgian GDP nowcast produced jointly with economists at Ghent University.

Mihkel Nestor

Mihkel Nestor, Chief Economist at SEB, specializes in the Estonian economy, but also won FocusEconomics Forecaster Awards for Finland this year. His posts mix humour with serious economic analysis, recently publishing an infographic detailing Erste’s “weather forecast” for economies in the Baltic and Nordic regions as well as an analysis on the Estonian economy’s recent struggles.

Matthias Reith

Matthias Reith is Senior Economist at Raiffeisen Bank, offering a laser focus on the Austrian economy, for which he won a FocusEconomics Forecaster Award this year. Reith regularly shares analyses on Austria’s housing market, as well as other economic developments there, recently stating that it remains a “high-inflation” country, arguing that this is partly due to high labor costs and a lack of competition among services firms.

José María Romero Vera

Madrid-based José María Romero Vera, Director for Economics and International Affairs at Equipo Económico, was awarded a FocusEconomics Award this year along with colleague Jorge Enrique Vindel González for their projections regarding Spanish bond rates. Romero Vera delves into the nitty-gritty of Spain’s economy, recently posting an analysis into how the country’s tourism spending is equivalent to an extra 9.2 million residents.

Angel Talavera

Angel Talavera, formerly Economist and Editor at FocusEconomics, now heads Oxford Economics’ analysis of the European economy. A must-follow for those interested in the latest developments in the region, Talavera has recently posted about Spain’s recent credit rating upgrade by S&P, as well as shifting GDP growth prospects in the Eurozone this year and next.

The Caribbean plus Central and Latin America

Felipe Camargo

Oxford Economics’ Felipe Camargo, Lead Global Economist at the firm, won a FocusEconomics Award this year for his projections regarding Brazil’s fiscal balance. He backs his analysis with knowledge of econometrics and economic models, sharing his latest research on LinkedIn as well as X and Substack.

Alfredo Coutino

Alfredo Coutino, Director for Latin America at Moody’s Analytics with over 20 years of experience at the firm, received this year’s FocusEconomics Award for most accurate forecaster of Brazil’s GDP. Coutino is also an expert on Mexico’s economy, recently writing in a detailed analysis available on LinkedIn that, while the Bank of Mexico may reach monetary neutrality, it may fail to bring inflation to target.

Paulo De Leon

Paulo de Leon is Co-Founder and Director of Intelligence at CABI, a consultancy focusing on the economies and financial systems of Central America. Along with colleague Paula Achury, he was recognized this year in our Awards as making some of the most accurate fiscal balance projections for the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and El Salvador. As well as sharing his thoughts on recent macro developments, de Leon regularly shares his thoughts on books about economics and politics, including most recently Emmanuel Todd’s After the Empire.

Luis Antonio Foncerrada Pascal

Luis Antonio Foncerrada Pascal is Chief Economist for the American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico, and is also a visiting research scholar at Texas A&M University. Jointly with colleague Arturo Martínez, he was ranked one of the top-three most-accurate forecasters of the Bank of Mexico’s policy rate this year by FocusEconomics. He is active on X, recently offering his take on Mexico’s recent economic activity: Consumption and investment look weak, making strong GDP upturns difficult.

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Jesse Rogers

Bad Bunny’s impact on Moody’s economic forecasts for Puerto Rico is just one of the topics delved into recently by Jesse Rogers, the company’s Head of LatAm Economics. A winner of our award for best forecaster of Peru this year, Rogers has also shared his writing about Moody’s outlook for the global economy, as well as the impact of U.S. tariffs on Brazil.

Nicolás Saldías

Nicolás Saldías is Senior Analyst for Latin America and the Caribbean at the EIU, and recently won our best overall forecaster award for Uruguay. He posts regularly about Latin America’s economy, including the recently proposed U.S. financial support for Argentina.

Gabriela Siller Pagaza

Gabriela Siller Pagaza is Director of Economic-Financial Analysis at Grupo Financiero Base, and won second place this year in the FocusEconomics Forecaster Awards for Mexico’s fiscal balance. With over 100,000 followers on X, Siller shares her insights on Mexico’s economy, providing quick takes and predictions—such as one on the Bank of Mexico’s next decision.

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Alfredo Thorne

Alfredo Thorne, founder of Thorne & Associates, received a FocusEconomics Forecaster Award this year for his projections regarding Peru alongside colleague Sebastian Valverde. In a recent post, Thorne provides an analysis of upcoming elections in Peru, as well as his firm’s outlook for Peru’s monetary policy in the coming months.

Sergio Vale

MB Associados’ Chief Economist Sergio Vale was recognized this year in the FocusEconomics Awards as one of the top-three most accurate forecasters of Brazil’s GDP. Vale frequently shares his appearances in media, including print, useful for anyone who is interested in learning about Brazil’s economy.

G7 / Major Economies

Brian Coulton

Brian Coulton is Chief Economist at Fitch Ratings, which this year won over 200 FocusEconomics Forecaster Awards. In a recent posts, Coulton says that while the U.S. tariff shock has been severe, recent trade deals have reduced uncertainty and have helped the U.S. dollar stabilize after depreciating markedly earlier this year.

Kevin Daly

Kevin Daly is Managing Director, Senior Economist at Goldman Sachs, co-heading the bank’s CEEMEA research division. Daly has recently shared analysis surrounding the challenges posed to the world economy by ageing, including a recent freely available report written with colleagues that argues that it’s “far that clear that the economic drawbacks of population ageing are as intractable as they are commonly depicted”. Daly was awarded an OBE last year by Britain’s Princess Anne for services to economics.

Jennifer H. Lee

Jennifer H. Lee is Senior Economist, Managing Director at BMO Capital Markets, having worked at the firm for over 26 years. This year, Lee secured a top-three finish in the FocusEconomics Awards for the most accurate forecaster of Japan. She posts on a roughly weekly basis, giving a snapshot of her latest blog, honing in on recent Bank of Japan, Fed and other central bank decisions. She also highlights her media appearances, including one recently on Bloomberg News to discuss U.S. inflation data.

Kallum Pickering

Kallum Pickering is Chief Economist at Peel Hunt, which recently joined FocusEconomics’ panel for G7 / Major economies. With a focus on the UK, Pickering lucidly frames incoming data into bigger stories about the British economy. In one recent post, Pickering gives his quick-take on the Bank of England’s latest meeting, arguing that November is the likeliest timing for the next cut, though high inflation in September could push it to wait until 2026.

James Pomeroy

James Pomeroy is Global Economist at HSBC, with over 13 years of track record at the company. Pomeroy was recently recognized by FocusEconomics as one of the most accurate forecasters of Sweden’s economy. His recent posts on LinkedIn have dealt with incoming U.S. economic figures and prospects for the global economy, stating that data for trade, inflation and interest rates suggests that there is room for optimism for world GDP growth ahead.

Nikolay Markov

Geneva-based Nikolay Markov is Lead Economist at Pictet Asset Management, and was recognized by FocusEconomics this year as the third-most accurate forecaster of Switzerland’s economy. Switzerland was recently hit by a 39% U.S. tariff, more than double that levied on the EU. In recent posts, Markov has shared recent comments to the media about the impact of the tariffs on the Swiss economy and particularly the franc.

John E. Silvia

John E. Silvia, CEO and Founder of Dynamic Economic Strategy, secured a top-three place in this year’s FocusEconomics Forecaster Awards for U.S. inflation. In 2024, he also received an award for his U.S. interest rate projections. Silvia posts frequently, arguing in one recent text that sovereign debt is putting increasing pressure on GDP growth, interest rates and market stability.

Dennis Shen

Dennis Shen—ranked as the second-most accurate forecaster for the U.S. this year in our Forecast Awards—is the Chair of the Macroeconomic Council and Lead Global Economist at Scope Ratings. In a recent piece, Shen writes with his colleagues that the Fed’s 25-basis point cut in September “appears premature” given recent economic data and uncertainty about tariffs—a bold take, but one that’s backed with analysis that’s characteristically sharp and to the point.

James Smith

James Smith is Developed Markets Economist at ING, with over 10 years of experience at the firm. This year, he won a FocusEconomics Award for his Canada forecasts, and last year won one for his UK projections. His analysis on the UK is widely followed and reported, appearing recently on the BBC Today program to discuss the country’s latest inflation figures and their implications for Bank of England policy.

Martin Weder

Zurich-based Martin Weder is Chief Economist at Zürcher Kantonalbank. A member of our panel, Weder’s recent analyses shared on LinkedIn have covered topics including the challenges facing democratic political systems, as well as the impact of the U.S. tariff hike on Swiss goods.

Mark Zandi

Mark Zandi is Chief Economist at Moody’s Analytics. Ranked as one of the top-three most accurate forecasters of U.S. GDP for two years in a row by FocusEconomics, Zandi hosts the Inside Economics Podcast and generously shares his latest thoughts about the global economy on LinkedIn, lucidly writing that the U.S. economy “continues to walk a fine line”, noting that “growth is soft, inflation remains sticky, and policy risks […] are as elevated as they’ve been in some time.”

Nordic Economies

Rory Fennessy

Rory Fennessy, Senior Economist at Oxford Economics, won best overall forecaster for Denmark in this year’s FocusEconomics Awards. On LinkedIn, he writes regularly about Nordic economies, including most recently about inflation data and monetary policy decisions in Norway.

Pasi Kuoppamäki

Helsinki-based Pasi Kuoppamäki, Chief Economist at Danske Bank, was this year recognized by FocusEconomics as one of the top-three most accurate forecasters of Finland’s GDP and fiscal balance. He regularly muses about the country’s economy on LinkedIn. In one recent post, he gives a detailed summary of Danske’s latest outlook for Nordic economies, writing that consumer spending should pick amid ECB rate cuts despite rising unemployment and cuts to public spending.

Las Olsen

Las Olsen heads the macro team at Danske Bank, and is a must-follow if you need or want to know about the Danish economy, for which he recently won a FocusEconomics Forecaster Award. In one recent take, Olsen argues that inflation in Denmark is set to decline significantly next year as a result of the abolition of an electricity tax. Olsen also hosts Danske’s Marketplace podcast—in Danish—publishing an episode every Friday.

Thomas Thygesen

Copenhagen-based Thomas Thygesen was recognized this year by FocusEconomics along with SEB colleague Elizabeth Mathisen as one of the most accurate forecasters of Denmark’s economy. Thygesen is the firm’s Head of Strategy in its Equity Research division, and regularly pinpoints key developments in this area. In one recent post, Thygesen writes about how the share of U.S. equities has increased in the world’s main stock benchmark, the MSCI, and explains what this means for investors.

Andreas Wallström

Andreas Wallström, is Head of Forecasting and Macro Research at Swedbank, which clinched six FocusEconomics Forecaster Awards this year, mainly for Nordic economies. Wallström’s analysis focuses on the Swedish economy—written in Swedish but easily translatable on LinkedIn—with a recent post of his explaining how the Riksbank’s recent monetary policy meeting has led Swedbank to ditch its prior projection of the central bank cutting rates in November.

Middle East & North Africa

Daniel Richards

Daniel Richards is Senior MENA Economist at Emirates NBD, scooping FocusEconomics Forecast Awards this year for Egypt and Iran. For deep dives on the latest economic data in the MENA region, Richards is a must-follow, with recent analyses on LinkedIn examining inflation and GDP prints in Saudi Arabia and their implications for Emirates NBD’s economic projections.

Pratibha Thaker

If you’re interested in the latest goings-on in the fast-moving Africa and Middle East regions, Prathiba Thaker is a must-follow on LinkedIn. Thaker, the EIU’s Regional Director for the two regions, has recently posted about topics including the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia defense pact, and also about the 2026 economic outlook for Africa and the Middle East. Thaker won 10 FocusEconomics Forecaster Awards this year, including for being one of the best overall forecasters of Kenya, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

Simon Williams

Simon Williams is Chief Economist for the CEEMEA region at HSBC, and won Forecaster Awards for countries including Egypt, Kuwait and Qatar. Williams shares details about recent business visits and media appearances, including a recent trip to Hong Kong to speak at an event about growing investment and trade ties between Asia and the Middle East. Williams also recently gave a snapshot of HSBC’s latest forecasts for CEEMEA.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Razia Khan

Razia Khan, who’s Chief Economist and Head of Research for Africa and the Middle East at Standard Chartered, shares content on both LinkedIn and X, often highlighting key news for economies such as Nigeria and South Africa. Khan received seven awards from us for best forecaster this year, including for a number of indicators for Kenya, Ghana and Uganda.

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Global

Lan Ha

Lan Ha is Head of Insights – Economies & Consumers at Euromonitor International, which won 16 FocusEconomics Forecaster Awards this year. On LinkedIn Ha regularly shares research from her firm, including recently one which dealt with the impact of U.S. tariffs on global economic growth.

Luca Moneta

Allianz’s Luca Moneta, a contributor to our panel, specializes in emerging markets and country risk. Using a color-coded world map as a visual aid, Moneta highlights how recent downgrades in country risk ratings for Belgium, France and the U.S. and recent upgrades in Argentina, Nicaragua and Peru raise questions about what places are “safe” for investors in the current macroeconomic environment.

Bader Al Sarraf

Dubai-based Bader Al Sarraf works for Standard Chartered as an Associate Research Analyst, and gives generous servings of analysis on LinkedIn, bridging topics including Trump’s pharma tariff threats, the latest U.S. Fed dot plot, and the recent appreciation of the Euro.

Exchange Rates

Paul Mackel

If you want to delve into the world of exchange rates, then Paul Mackel, HSBC’s Global Head of FX Research, is definitely worth following. Recognized this year as one of the most accurate forecasters of the euro and Swiss franc, Mackel has recently shared detailed analysis on HSBC’s latest FX outlook, suggesting that there are “two doors” that the U.S. dollar could take—a slow weakening or a faster decline.

Commodities

Edward Bell

Edward Bell is acting Chief Economist and Head of Group Research at Emirates NBD. This year, he won first-place FocusEconomics Forecaster Awards for three commodities: Aluminium, copper and tin. In recent posts, Bell has shared videos in which he discusses the latest developments in the global economy, as well as a snap verdict in which he analyses the implications of the latest OPEC+ meeting.

Daniel Hynes

Daniel Hynes is Senior Commodity Strategist at ANZ, returning to the firm in 2014 after prior stints at CIMB, Citigroup, Apollo Management and Merrill Lynch. Alongside colleague Soni Kumari, Hynes was one of the most successful economists in this year’s FocusEconomics Forecaster Awards for commodities, with four top-three finishes in the metals category. On LinkedIn, Hynes publishes the Commodities Wrap, a free weekly newsletter on the latest developments in commodities markets, focusing on energy plus base and precious metals.

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