Swiss-EU tensions rise, Iceland’s economy stagnates

Switzerland’s Federal Council has been debating this week on whether to align itself more closely with the EU, a decision with serious implications for the country’s status as an international financial centre. Meanwhile, although Q3’s stagnation in the Icelandic economy shows that a slowdown there is underway, we expect the central bank to raise interest rates next week. But the SNB and the Norges Bank are likely to keep policy unchanged.