Europe Economics Weekly France delays pension reform; Swiss-US talks The narrowing in the spread on French government bonds over the past month may reflect the fact that France has avoided early elections for now and the latest economic data have been quite strong. But... 14th November 2025 · 6 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly Defence sector won’t save euro-zone industry Rising government spending on defence appears to have boosted production in the sector already. But with larger sectors within industry facing significant structural headwinds we think the outlook for... 7th November 2025 · 6 mins read
Europe Chart Pack Europe Chart Pack (November 2025) We expect euro-zone GDP growth to remain fairly slow in the coming years. Germany’s fiscal stimulus should provide a temporary and fairly modest boost, and we don’t think it will do much to raise... 6th November 2025 · 1 min read
Europe Rapid Response Norges Bank Policy Announcement (November 2025) Today’s decision to leave the policy rate at 4.0% came as no surprise and policymakers are clearly in no rush to cut interest rates again. We have pencilled in the next reduction for March, but the... 6th November 2025 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Update Sweden’s inflation rate to fall sharply in 2026 CPIF inflation is set to fall temporarily to around 1% in 2026, largely due to the impact of cuts to VAT on food and taxes on electricity. But the Riksbank is unlikely to cut its policy rate further... 6th November 2025 · 3 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Riksbank Policy Announcement (November 2025) While the Riksbank left its policy rate at 1.75% and its forward guidance unchanged today, the economic data have improved significantly over the past few months and have given us greater confidence... 5th November 2025 · 3 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Swiss CPI (October) The slight fall in Swiss headline inflation in October will come as a big surprise to the SNB, which expected inflation to increase markedly in the fourth quarter. However, we think that inflation is... 3rd November 2025 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly France & Spain: same budget impasse, diverging debt Governments in France and Spain are both struggling to get 2026 budgets through parliament and significant fiscal consolidation is unlikely in either country. But while France’s debt ratio will trend... 31st October 2025 · 9 mins read
Europe Economics Update Norges Bank to hold steady Norway’s economic data have been a touch weaker than Norges Bank expected recently, but not by enough to prompt a rate cut next week. We’re forecasting the next cut in March 2026. 30th October 2025 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Update Riksbank on hold over coming quarters The Riksbank will keep the policy rate at 1.75% next week and, despite the recent strong economic data, will continue to say that the policy rate will stay at its current level “for some time to come... 29th October 2025 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly Tensions simmering between the EU and China Tensions between the EU and China over rare earths and semiconductors, which continued to simmer this week, could weigh on euro-zone industry, particularly the defence and auto sectors. Next week, the... 24th October 2025 · 10 mins read
Europe Economics Update SNB heading for negative rates (but no others following) We think it is just a matter of time before the SNB returns to negative policy rates as inflation is close to zero and geopolitical risks may put upward pressure on the franc. But negative rates will... 20th October 2025 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly Small fiscal loosening in the euro-zone next year Draft 2026 budget plans submitted to the European Commission this week point to a moderate loosening of fiscal policy next year. In practice we think that the degree of policy loosening will be... 17th October 2025 · 5 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly France’s worrying deficit, Germany‘s timid reforms Even if it avoids early elections, France looks set to pass a budget which reduces the deficit only fractionally next year and President Macron’s prized pension reforms are now at risk of being partly... 10th October 2025 · 5 mins read
Europe Chart Pack Europe Chart Pack (October 2025) We expect euro-zone GDP growth to remain fairly slow in the coming years. Germany’s fiscal stimulus should provide a temporary and fairly modest boost, but we don’t think that it will do much to raise... 8th October 2025 · 1 min read
Europe Rapid Response Sweden CPI (September) CPIF inflation edged down in September and is likely to fall much more significantly next year – to around just 1%. Despite that, we think the Riksbank will leave its policy rate on hold for the next... 8th October 2025 · 1 min read
