Europe Economics Update Debt concerns still dominating the Riksbank’s thoughts The Swedish Riksbank’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged at 1.0% was no surprise given the recent run of encouraging economic data. But while the chances of an imminent cut have perhaps... 17th April 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Latest Portuguese fiscal plans only buy time The Portuguese Government’s proposed new spending cuts should allow it to receive the next tranche of its bail-out loan and have its previous loans extended. But while this would provide some much... 16th April 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Pressure on Slovenia to intensify further Recent events have underlined our view that the Slovenian government will struggle to finance itself this year despite the small size (relative to GDP) of its troubled banks and public debt. To avoid... 15th April 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Cyprus: The bail-out thickens The dramatic increase in the size of the proposed rescue package for Cyprus both underlines the depth of the problems facing the country and poses further questions over the likely impact of future... 11th April 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Are Greek economic prospects really improving? Recent news from Greece has provided tentative signs that the economic situation there is improving. But we still think that the economy will remain in recession for longer than the Troika expects and... 10th April 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB "ready to act", but running out of options After leaving interest rates on hold today, ECB President Draghi acknowledged the downturn in the economic outlook and stated that the Bank stood ready to act in future. However, he provided little... 4th April 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update How big a threat is a Slovenia bail-out? Slovenia is indeed different from Cyprus, as its government has been at pains to point out, but the country may nonetheless struggle to overcome its banking crisis without outside help. That said, any... 4th April 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Can Italy shrug off its political deadlock? The recent news from Italy suggests that it could still be some time before a new government is in place. While there is little sign, for now at least, that this has damaged business and consumer... 2nd April 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Monetary Indicators Monitor (Feb. 13) The latest euro-zone monetary data showed more mixed developments in financial markets than in previous months. And there is still limited evidence of a pick-up in credit to the private sector. 28th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Fiscal Monitor (Mar.) Italy and Spain missed their 2012 deficit targets by a small margin and timelier data point to further likely slippage in the initial stages of this year. 27th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Who will be the next Cyprus? Cyprus has shown that even the smallest members of the euro-zone can rock the single currency area. Slovenia is probably the next country most likely to be forced into a bailout programme, but Malta... 27th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Capital controls: vital stopgap or dangerous precedent? While capital controls could be crucial to preventing the collapse of the Cypriot banking system in the coming weeks, their persistence or more widespread use would threaten to undermine the basic... 26th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Cyprus: Disaster averted, but with lasting effects While the Cypriot banking package has averted imminent disaster, the episode will have damaging effects on Cyprus’s economy and has raised new questions over the stability of the currency union. 25th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update What next for Cyprus? The Cypriot Parliament’s overwhelming rejection of the proposed levy on bank deposits adds to the uncertainty surrounding the future of Cyprus and increases the risk of the country eventually exiting... 20th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Is Cyprus really a special case? The plan to impose losses on Cypriot bank depositors has potentially serious implications for financial stability in the euro-zone as a whole. Cyprus is arguably a special case, but given remaining... 18th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Italian deadlock set to continue The opening of Parliament on Friday will do little to lift the political uncertainty in Italy. Accordingly, a prolonged period of policy deadlock looks likely to fuel concerns over the outlook for... 14th March 2013 · 1 min read
