Filtered by Region: Europe Use setting Europe
German unemployment reached a post-war high in January of over five million. In this Focus we examine the statistics in more detail and assess whether the labour market reforms currently being undertaken will be enough to reduce German unemployment in the …
18th February 2005
Ten EU countries are set to hold referendums on whether to ratify the proposed EU constitution. The UK referendum is the most likely to fail, but for other countries the risk of rejecting the constitution is far higher than is suggested by some current …
10th February 2005
On 20th February Spain will become the first of ten countries to hold a referendum on the proposed EU constitution. This Focus is the first in a series which will set out the key event risks involved in the ratification process, and how this may affect …
9th February 2005
This report is only available as a PDF. Click to download. … Can the euro-zone economy live with a stronger euro? …
18th January 2005
The ECB has already started to express concern about the rising euro. This has led to increased speculation about when the ECB might intervene to resist further strengthening. However, we believe that there are three key reasons why the ECB will remain …
10th November 2004
Germany’s economy has underperformed that of France for a number of years, but this could change if it is successful in pushing through with its reform agenda. Indeed, Germany is now particularly exposed to increased competition from the enlarged European …
30th September 2004
The rise in oil prices to record highs makes for eye-catching headlines, but it exaggerates the impact on the euro-zone economy. In real terms, oil prices are still far lower than during the true ‘oil shocks’ of the 1970s. Furthermore, the euro-zone …
13th August 2004
Whatever the football results from Portugal, some countries can at least draw comfort from the latest league table of national incomes. Data from the IMF World Economic Database 2004 allow us to compare the relative sizes of the European economies. Being …
18th June 2004
The Treasury’s assessment of the five economic tests to determine whether the UK should adopt the euro has had an unexpected benefit – five ideas for reform, admittedly not all new, to improve the efficiency of the UK economy. The Treasury’s assessment of …
27th June 2003
Now that the UK has decided not to adopt the euro, attention will turn to the implications of this decision. Many studies in the last year or so have concluded that the UK has already missed out on a large chunk of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). This …
12th May 2003
In a few months, the Treasury will complete its assessment of the five economic tests for UK adoption of the single currency. Should the tests be passed, a referendum could follow in the autumn and we could be in the euro within two years. … The five …
30th March 2003
Structural differences between the UK and continental European housing markets are a major barrier to Britain adopting the euro. Because of the large proportion of variable-rate mortgages in the UK, and its high level of home ownership, Britain is …
26th July 2002
Today’s press is full of the idea that the Prime Minster is set to push ahead with plans for a euro referendum. This is so much at odds with our own assessment, notably in our last Quarterly Review, that we think it merits a comment. … Blair and the Euro …
3rd October 2001
The euro is the main economic issue of the day. Both financial planners and economic policy-makers would be strongly affected if the pound were to join it and, accordingly, they are obliged to make an assumption about whether and when this will happen. …
27th June 2001
Last night’s Mansion House Speech by Gordon Brown seems to have put paid to recent speculation of an early assessment of the five economic tests leading to a euro referendum as soon as this Autumn. Although the Government is still committed to an …
21st June 2001
