Capital Economics released a new episode of its Weekly Briefing podcast on 13 November 2026 under the title "Up and down week for markets and a general strike in Spain." The episode, available on Spotify, Apple and other leading podcast platforms, reviews a choppy week across financial markets and turns its attention to a general strike in Spain — a form of industrial action broad enough to span multiple sectors of an economy, and the kind of event economists monitor for its potential to weigh on near-term activity. The episode page is available here.

Alongside the audio programme, Capital Economics flagged several related pieces of research:

US International Trade (Sep. 2026)

Senior North America Economist Thomas Ryan observes that the negligible narrowing in the US trade deficit in September, as export growth barely outpaced import growth, is "broadly consistent with the BEA's..." The BEA — the US Bureau of Economic Analysis — compiles the country's official international trade statistics. The arithmetic behind the reading is straightforward: the trade balance is simply the gap between what a country sells abroad and what it buys from overseas, so a deficit narrows only when export growth outruns import growth — making that margin the figure to watch in upcoming monthly releases. Full note: US International Trade (Sep. 2026).

When should Burnham call a general election?

Chief UK Economist Paul Dales weighs the question of election timing, writing: "To the extent that the economy matters in determining the timing of general elections and their result, our economic forecasts and the government's..." The question matters because the date of a UK general election is not fixed: the Prime Minister chooses when to call one, within a maximum parliamentary term of five years, and the state of the economy is among the considerations in that decision. Full analysis: When should Burnham call a general election?.

Korea: AI and demographics brighten the long-term outlook

Senior Asia Economist Gareth Leather notes that Korea's trend growth has slowed over the past few decades, reflecting weaker productivity and slower workforce growth, while the firm's related analysis points to artificial intelligence and demographics as factors brightening the country's long-term outlook. Trend growth — the pace an economy can sustain once short-term cyclical swings are stripped out — is the yardstick for long-run projections of output and living standards, which is why the interplay between AI and demographics sits at the centre of long-horizon assessments of Korea's economy. Full report: Korea: AI and demographics brighten the long-term outlook.

Capital Economics is an independent economic research consultancy providing macroeconomic analysis of major global economies. Further details are available in the full episode and the linked publications.