Japan Economics Focus Japan after Koizumi The imminent retirement of Prime Minister Koizumi is likely to raise concerns that “reform fatigue” will start to undermine the Japanese economy and markets. In this Focus we assess the risks to... 13th September 2006 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Is UK plc investing enough? With nominal business investment currently at an historical low as a share of GDP, the corporate sector’s investment in the capital stock and the future health of the economy appears to be woefully... 23rd August 2006 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus Italian elections: Prodi probably the lesser of two evils Italian voters are facing a choice between two pre-determined coalitions in the general election on 9th-10th April - the centre-left Union coalition under Romano Prodi, currently leading by 3-5% in... 5th April 2006 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Outlook still weak for household goods sales Sales of household goods have suffered particularly badly over the last year, as both the housing market and overall consumer spending have slowed. But there are now tentative signs that the sector... 16th March 2006 · 1 min read
US Economics Focus Demographics and the coming budget crisis - a contrarian view 13th March 2006 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Corporate recovery at threat from pension fund deficits The gaping hole in corporate pension funds has been exacerbated by the recent drop in UK long bond yields, which are used to discount the value of future pension liabilities. In order to eliminate... 22nd February 2006 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Strong demand for retail floorspace unlikely to persist The continued enthusiasm of retailers to take on extra retail space over the last year or so has been somewhat surprising in the face of their recent rise in costs and the slowdown in retail sales... 20th February 2006 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus No free lunch in corporate tax hikes Speculation that taxes will need to rise in the UK has largely assumed that households will bear the brunt of any increases. And yet the recent weakness of household spending and the contrasting... 28th November 2005 · 1 min read
UK Economic Outlook Companies to the rescue? Assessing whether the corporate sector will offset the consumer slowdown (Q4 05) With consumers and the government no longer able to bear the burden of driving forward economic growth, it is the corporate sector that will come under the spotlight over the next year or two. Firms... 27th September 2005 · 1 min read
UK Economic Outlook Getting Older - the economic consequences of an ageing population (Q3 05) Changes in the growth and make-up of the UK population are set to have major consequences for the economy over the next few decades. 27th June 2005 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus EU Constitution: How Will Markets React To The Referendums? Recent opinion polls suggest that the French referendum on 29th May is likely to be extremely close, whilst the Dutch referendum (1st June) seems more likely to reject the constitution. In this Focus... 25th May 2005 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Profits set to disappoint the stockmarket The UK corporate sector has a lot to live up to over the next year or two. The optimism regarding future stockmarket earnings implies that the recent pick-up in corporate profits is expected to become... 10th May 2005 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus The election and the markets With the general election now less than two weeks away, it is a good time to take a look back at history to see what impact an election usually has on the financial markets. 25th April 2005 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus The economy and the election At face value, current conditions in the UK economy would appear strongly to support the widely held expectations of a third consecutive general election victory for Labour on May 5th. GDP has... 12th April 2005 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus What Happens if the UK Rejects the EU Constitution? Recent opinion polls suggest that the French referendum on 29th May could reject the EU constitution, although the chances are good that ratification could be obtained by repeating the referendum at a... 31st March 2005 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus EU Stability and Growth Pact – An Obituary The changes agreed this week clearly water down the EU stability and growth pact (SGP) and allow far greater scope for countries to run budget deficits above the 3% limit. Thus it may seem odd that... 24th March 2005 · 1 min read
