UK Economics Rapid Response UK Public Finances (Jan.) January’s public finances figures delivered some much-needed good news for the Chancellor in the lead-up to the Budget on 6th March. But we doubt this will pave the way for a very big pre-election... 21st February 2024 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Rapid Response Australia Wage Price Index (Q4 2023) The pickup in wage growth in Q4 was driven by larger pay packets for public-sector employees. By contrast, private-sector wage growth actually fell back and should continue to do so in the coming... 21st February 2024 · 3 mins read
Global Markets Update What’s unusual about this bubble and whether it matters Unlike most bubbles, this one hasn’t been accompanied, at least so far, by obvious signs of high and rising leverage. On the other hand, the share of funds invested in ‘passive’ products is now much... 20th February 2024 · 6 mins read
UK Economics Focus Spring Budget 2024 Preview – Electioneering beats prudence Using most of the fiscal headroom of about £15bn to cut taxes in the Spring Budget on 6th March would show that the Chancellor is putting the election before prudence. Such tax cuts may help lift the... 20th February 2024 · 21 mins read
US Commercial Property Chart Pack US Commercial Property Chart Pack (Q1 24) All-property values are down by 15% since mid-2022. But, with cap rates set to climb toward 5.5% by the end of the forecast period, we think capital value falls have some way to go still, with the... 20th February 2024 · 1 min read
Event UK Drop-In: Spring Budget 2024 – Jeremy Hunt goes shopping for votes 1709737200 The UK Chancellor may use his 6th March Spring Budget to splash the cash and try to win voter support for the beleaguered Conservative party ahead of an expected electi
Canada Rapid Response Consumer Prices (Jan.) While the larger-than-expected drop in headline inflation in January was partly driven by weaker than expected energy inflation, the Bank of Canada will be pleased to see the more marked easing in its... 20th February 2024 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Update Construction weakness to resume Euro-zone construction output picked up in December, but remained well below last year’s peak. We expect it to drop again in 2024, in part due to a continued dismal performance by the sector in... 20th February 2024 · 3 mins read
Japan Chart Pack Japan Chart Pack (Feb. 2024) Our Japan Chart Pack has been updated with the latest data and our analysis of recent developments. GDP has fallen for two consecutive quarters but we don’t think the economy is in recession and... 20th February 2024 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Single and multi-family construction on different paths Following the huge fall in multi-family starts in January, we suspect the apartment sector will continue to be a drag on new development this year. But construction of single-family dwellings will... 19th February 2024 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Chart Pack UK Housing Market Chart Pack (Feb. 2024) The decline in mortgage rates since last summer will allow more first-time buyers to enter the market and lead to a further pick up in mortgage lending. With supply still tight, we think that will... 19th February 2024 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Japan isn’t de-industrialising Japan’s industrial production data don’t fully take into account the influence of falling prices and have systematically underestimated the strength of manufacturing output. The upshot is that rather... 19th February 2024 · 2 mins read
US Economics Weekly PPI a kick in the teeth for inflation doves The much stronger-than-expected 0.5% m/m increase in core PPI in January came as a hammer blow for PCE estimates. Coming on the heels of the hot 0.4% m/m increase in core CPI, our calculations now... 16th February 2024 · 5 mins read
Canada Economics Weekly Activity looking reasonably healthy Signs of healthy growth going into the first quarter support our view that the Bank of Canada will probably wait until June to pivot to rate cuts. 16th February 2024 · 6 mins read