Europe Economics Update Household spending squeeze to continue Policy tightening over the past year has pushed up euro-zone households’ interest costs substantially and is a key explanation for household consumption falling. With interest costs set to rise a lot... 3rd May 2023 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update Credit conditions continue to tighten March’s money and credit data, as well as the Bank Lending Survey carried out in March and April, show no clear signs that the recent troubles in the US and Swiss banking sectors have had an impact on... 2nd May 2023 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone wage growth to slow only gradually Wage growth in the euro-zone is likely to remain above the level compatible with 2% core inflation this year and only gradually return to a more sustainable level thereafter. 27th April 2023 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update Why has Spain’s economic recovery been weak? Spain’s underperformance since the pandemic can be explained in part by the incomplete recovery in its tourism sector and in part by the sharp fall in real household disposable incomes. That said, we... 26th April 2023 · 4 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Riksbank shows the way with 50bp With the ECB poised to raise rates next Thursday, the Riksbank has got its retaliation in early, hiking its key rate by 50bp. The statement indicates that policymakers expect to raise rates by another... 26th April 2023 · 3 mins read
FX Markets Update Undervalued krone likely to rebound later this year The Norwegian krone has been the worst G10 performer against the US dollar by some way in recent months. Though lower energy prices and weakening risk sentiment have likely played a role, we suspect... 21st April 2023 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update Bank stress tests to leave some questions unanswered Recent events have highlighted that meeting regulatory capital and liquidity requirements does not guarantee that banks will be financially stable. The forthcoming EU bank stress test results should... 17th April 2023 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update How worried should we be about the euro-zone’s banks? We doubt that the banking sector crisis which has hit US regional banks and Credit Suisse will morph into a sustained or systemic problem for the euro-zone’s banks. However, there may well be further... 28th March 2023 · 5 mins read
Europe Economics Update Bank lending very weak even before recent turmoil The February money and credit data show that even before the recent pressure on European banks, net bank lending was extremely weak and consistent with the economy contracting sharply. 27th March 2023 · 2 mins read
Energy Update Clean tech race to hit EU coal and gas demand The EU’s Net-Zero Industry Act announced last week aims to keep the manufacture of clean technologies within the EU and shows that global fracturing will take place within blocs as well as between... 24th March 2023 · 4 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update SNB focuses on inflation and raises rates This morning’s 50bp interest rate hike by the Swiss National Bank (SNB), to 1.50%, was in line with expectations and shows that, like the ECB and Fed, Swiss policymakers have not been distracted from... 23rd March 2023 · 3 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Norges Bank not done yet The Norges Bank’s 25bp rate hike today was accompanied by new verbal guidance that it is likely to raise rates further in May. Together with the new, higher interest rate forecast, this supports our... 23rd March 2023 · 3 mins read
Global Economics Update What next after Credit Suisse? While the Credit Suisse rescue might draw a line under that particular institution’s problems, it is clear that confidence in the financial sector overall is still extremely fragile. So regardless of... 20th March 2023 · 5 mins read
Europe Economics Update ECB prioritising inflation fight Investors have taken today’s 50bp rate hike by the ECB as dovish, and the peak deposit rate now priced into markets is between 3% and 3.25%. We think the risks are skewed towards rates going higher... 16th March 2023 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update How big are risks from Germany’s trade links to China Germany is more vulnerable than most advanced economies to a reduction in trade with China both because of the scale of trade and the use of Chinese-made inputs to its large manufacturing sector. 6th March 2023 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update ECB account consistent with high-for-longer The account of the ECB’s last meeting is consistent with our view that the ECB will raise its deposit rate to 3.0% a fortnight today and continue hiking beyond that. In light of the data released... 2nd March 2023 · 3 mins read
