UK Economics Weekly What's driving the recovery? Consumers are still a fairly big driving force behind the economic recovery. This is a bit of a concern, given that spending has been funded by lower saving rather than rising incomes. However, last... 26th August 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Germany to fund more than a third Greek bail-out? German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble’s acknowledgement last week that Greece needs more aid seemed like a statement of the obvious. Encouragingly, however the size of any new bail-out will be... 26th August 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Yen weakness helps to stabilise current account Investors tend to focus on visible trade when analysing the impact of the weak yen on the current account. The impact on investment income tends to be ignored, even though it is more immediate. Since... 26th August 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly It’s not all doom and gloom for Asia Recent headlines have been dominated by a sharp shift in sentiment against EM assets. Asian economies have been hit harder than most in the sell-off. However, away from the financial markets, there... 26th August 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Consumer Price Index (Jul.) July's subdued inflation figures are consistent with an economy growing below potential, which will only reinforce the Bank of Canada's reluctance to raise rates anytime soon. With growth expected to... 23rd August 2013 · 1 min read
Global Trade Monitor Global trade still lagging behind The latest aggregate data show that world trade remained subdued in both June and July. Forward-looking surveys suggest a small rise in the coming months, but overall there is little reason to expect... 23rd August 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response New Home Sales (Jul.) The sharp drop in new home sales in July, and the downward revision to June’s figure, suggest that the spike in mortgage interest rates is taking more of a toll on housing market activity than we had... 23rd August 2013 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Consumer spending continues its ascent Real household spending saw a further expansion in Q2, its seventh successive quarterly rise. But with earnings growth still subdued, the recovery’s foundations are hardly watertight. Nonetheless... 23rd August 2013 · 1 min read
UK Commercial Property Chart Pack Capital values up for second month in a row Despite flat rents, a further small fall in yields in July was enough for all-property capital values to tick up by 0.2%m/m, the second such rise in a row. Meanwhile, investment market activity was... 23rd August 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response BBA Mortgage Lending (Jul.13) The steady growth in mortgage approvals stalled in July, and net lending was negative for an unprecedented seventh month in a row. While this is probably a blip, it highlights that lenders are still... 23rd August 2013 · 1 min read
UK Data Response GDP: Second Estimate & Expenditure Breakdown (Q2) The second estimate of Q2 GDP showed that the recovery has been gathering momentum even more quickly than previously thought, with timelier data reinforcing that picture. It is looking better-balanced... 23rd August 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German GDP Breakdown (Q2) The second release of Q2 German GDP confirmed that the economy expanded by an encouraging 0.7%. But while the recovery should continue, a closer look at the data suggests that the pace of growth will... 23rd August 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil FX intervention plan looks big by EM standards The $60bn currency intervention programme announced by Brazil late last night represents one of the boldest attempts yet by an EM central bank to shore up its currency following the rout of recent... 23rd August 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Favourable oil prices could spur business investment The rebound in domestic crude oil prices over the first half of this year has improved the outlook for Canadian business investment. Overall, this suggests some upside risk to GDP outlook of 1.5% in... 22nd August 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update What is the outlook for German office vacancy rates? The German economy seems to be getting back onto a solid footing. However, given the normal lags between developments in the economy and the property market, changes already seen in regional labour... 22nd August 2013 · 1 min read
