Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Norges Bank confirms September rate lift-off While the Norges Bank left its policy rate on hold at a record low of zero once again this morning, it all but confirmed that it will raise rates in September – which would be well ahead of the RBNZ... 17th June 2021 · 3 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Policy tightening by SNB remains a distant prospect While the Norges Bank will start hiking in Q3, and we now expect the Fed to raise rates twice in 2023, developments in Frankfurt will continue to set the tone at the Swiss National Bank. Having left... 17th June 2021 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Delta variant won’t derail the euro-zone’s recovery The Delta variant does not appear to have taken hold in mainland Europe as yet, but the experience of the Alpha variety suggests that it could be dominant by the end of July. While this would be far... 16th June 2021 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update Putting the Norges Bank’s looming hikes into context A rate hike by the Norges Bank in September would make it the first G10 central bank to start to raise interest rates after the pandemic, by a comfortable margin. As a result, the NOK is likely to... 15th June 2021 · 3 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Switzerland waves Auf Wiederloge to a new EU Treaty While the breakdown in Treaty talks between Switzerland and the EU makes the outlook for Swiss exporters more uncertain, we doubt that the lasting economic impact will be very big. 27th May 2021 · 3 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Norges Bank and Riksbank won’t wait for the ECB The Norges Bank has a history of beginning to tighten policy earlier than the ECB and we think it will follow that pattern again this year. Meanwhile, although it’s not the most likely scenario, we... 27th May 2021 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update Slow start to jab rollout may come back to bite Europe While the vaccine rollout in Europe has finally kicked into gear, the legacy of the slow start means the EU is more exposed than the UK or the US if the Indian variant spreads quickly amongst the... 18th May 2021 · 2 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Interest rate lift-off edging nearer in Norway As expected, the Norges Bank left its policy rate on hold at a record low of zero once again this morning but remains on track to be the first advanced central bank to start to raise interest rates... 6th May 2021 · 3 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Economic optimism won’t translate into policy action The decision by the Riksbank to leave the repo rate and its other policy settings unchanged today will have come as a surprise to no one. While policymakers are increasingly optimistic about the near... 27th April 2021 · 3 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Weaker franc to further ease US-Swiss relations The fact that the US Treasury refrained from calling Switzerland a currency manipulator in its latest report lowers the temperature in US-Swiss relations but doesn’t change the policy equation for the... 19th April 2021 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Yet another blow to Europe’s vaccine rollout The delayed start to deliveries of the J&J vaccine is yet another blow to the rollout in continental Europe and on its own could delay things by at least one month compared to a situation in which the... 14th April 2021 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update Easing in Denmark is the exception, not the rule The comparative success that the Danish government has had in handling COVID has allowed it to start to re-open the economy, despite the painfully slow progress on the vaccine front. Most economies in... 6th April 2021 · 2 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update The good ship SNB set to maintain its course This morning’s decision by the Swiss National Bank to keep its policy settings unchanged came as no surprise. The prospect of further falls in the franc should allow the Bank to largely stay out of... 25th March 2021 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics ‘Export ban’ won’t solve the EU’s vaccine woes The EU’s tougher stance on vaccine exports might help to secure some concessions and additional doses from the UK. But it will do nothing to combat vaccine hesitancy in parts of the bloc and is... 24th March 2021 · 3 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Norges Bank gearing up to hike As we expected, the Norges Bank laid the groundwork this morning for the start of a tightening cycle, later this year. But we think it will raise interest rates sooner and faster than it currently... 18th March 2021 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Europe falling further behind on the virus front A new wave of coronavirus cases in Europe, and the pause in usage of the AstraZeneca vaccine, raises the risk that the EU will fall even further behind the UK and US in its recovery from the pandemic. 17th March 2021 · 4 mins read
