Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Weaker currencies and higher oil prices boost equities Amid escalating international trade tensions, the Nordic and Swiss currencies depreciated across the board in April. Weaker exchange rates helped to give equities a boost, while the main bourses in... 27th April 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Riksbank delays interest rate rises The Riksbank now expects interest rates to remain unchanged until Q4. We think that the Bank will raise rates gradually this year and next, before adopting a faster pace of tightening in 2020. 26th April 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Will the Swiss franc continue to weaken? The safe haven Swiss franc has depreciated steadily over the past couple of months despite geopolitical worries and rising protectionism. We think that the franc will continue to weaken as the ECB... 25th April 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update How did the Nordic & Swiss economies fare in Q1? The activity surveys across the Nordics and in Switzerland generally weakened in Q1. But they were still fairly strong, so on the whole these economies seem to have performed reasonably well in the... 3rd April 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Trump concerns weigh on Nordic and Swiss markets In March, equity prices and bond yields in the Nordics and Switzerland were pushed down by concerns about US trade policy, while exchange rate movements were more mixed. Looking ahead, we expect... 29th March 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update SNB’s large-scale intervention era is drawing to a close The Swiss National Bank is likely to reduce its currency interventions further over the next couple of years as other central banks start to normalise policy and the Swiss economy is better able to... 22nd March 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update When will Iceland drop its remaining capital controls? While the Central Bank of Iceland’s forecasts imply that it intends to scale back its controls on foreign investment later this year, we think that it will end up leaving them unchanged until 2020. 21st March 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update The outlook for bonds in Switzerland and the Nordics The Nordic central banks are all moving towards tightening monetary policy, albeit at different speeds. We think that higher interest rates will come first in Sweden, pushing up government bond yields... 20th March 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Norges Bank edging towards tighter policy Following the recent reduction in its inflation target, the Norges Bank now clearly expects to begin raising interest rates this year. However, we think that it will tighten monetary policy more... 15th March 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update SNB to lag ECB in policy normalisation Despite sounding a slightly more positive tone on the economy, the Swiss National Bank today reiterated that the Swiss franc remained “highly valued” and that it still needed to keep interest rates at... 15th March 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Central Bank of Iceland on hold for now While the Central Bank of Iceland left policy unchanged today, it also acknowledged that inflation expectations are rising. We expect higher actual and expected inflation to prompt the Bank to raise... 14th March 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Will Nordic and Swiss equities continue to struggle? After a tough start to 2018, we think that equities in the Nordic countries and Switzerland will continue to struggle over the next couple of years. But their performance will be far from uniform. 7th March 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update A month to forget for Swedish krona and Swiss shares While all of the Nordic currencies and the Swiss franc depreciated against the dollar in February, weak Swedish inflation data and dovish comments from the Riksbank meant that the drop in the krona... 1st March 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Riksbank set to push back guidance on rate rises In light of weak inflation data earlier this week and the dovishness of today’s Riksbank minutes, we expect the Bank to signal at April’s meeting that it will raise interest rates later than its... 23rd February 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Is the Swiss franc really overvalued? Although the franc has strengthened in recent weeks, the big picture is that the currency is over 5% weaker than this time a year ago. Currency valuation measures paint a mixed picture but our view is... 15th February 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update No surprises from cautious Riksbank Given that the Riksbank called time on its net asset purchases just one meeting ago, it was always unlikely that the Bank would make any major policy changes today. In order to test the water ahead of... 14th February 2018 · 1 min read