UK Commercial Property Chart Pack Economy set to remain weak in 2011 All-property rental values were flat in December, though this disguised the fact that rises in City and West End offices and the retail warehouse segment were offset by falls elsewhere. Meanwhile, net... 25th January 2011 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Preliminary GDP (Q4) & Public Finances (Dec.) Although heavily affected by the weather, the UK’s shockingly bad Q4 GDP figures - showing a 0.5% quarterly contraction - raise serious concerns over whether the economy is in a strong enough position... 25th January 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update India's Reserve Bank still has more work to do The central bank in India (RBI) today hiked the repo rate by 25bp to 6.5%, as was expected. In addition, the RBI adopted an unequivocally hawkish stance. High inflation, particularly when led by food... 25th January 2011 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Bank of Japan has more work to do There were no surprises from the Bank of Japan meeting that ended today and policy was unchanged. Nonetheless, we continue to expect further easing later this year to undermine the yen as the global... 25th January 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Is Turkish monetary policy really a recipe for disaster? The Central Bank of Turkey’s policy of cutting interest rates to deter speculative capital inflows despite the economy’s comparatively good growth prospects is not necessarily the recipe for disaster... 24th January 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungary hikes again, but all eyes back on fiscal policy The National Bank of Hungary (NBH) this afternoon voted to hike interest rates by 25bps for the third consecutive month (to 6.00%). The outlook remains highly uncertain, but on balance today’s move... 24th January 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Rising inflation to be met with unorthodox measures With the notable exception of Mexico, containing inflation remains the immediate challenge for policymakers in Latin America. Although the pick-up in inflation looks set to be driven by food and... 24th January 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Ireland's political turmoil not as disastrous as it seems Ireland’s coming general election provides hope that months of political uncertainty may be about to end. But whatever the outcome, the economy and public finances will remain in a precarious state. 24th January 2011 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Can the economy continue to recover? While we expect the economy to keep expanding, we doubt that the recovery is on the sustainable footing required for it to maintain its recent pace. We expect the combination of the fiscal squeeze... 24th January 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash PMIs (Jan.) January’s PMI surveys suggest that the euro-zone has made a pretty solid start to the year. But the upbeat data for the euro-zone as a whole continue to mask wide divergences between the region’s core... 24th January 2011 · 1 min read
China Economics Update China’s imbalances getting wider China’s dual imbalances – its trade surplus and its domestic reliance on investment over consumption – both widened in real terms in 2010. Government fiscal policy made things worse. 24th January 2011 · 1 min read
Bank of Japan Watch Forecasts looking too rosy The Bank of Japan’s Policy Board is unlikely to announce any major policy initiatives at the two-day meeting which concludes tomorrow. 24th January 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly EFSF plans won't solve the crisis European policymakers’ hopes of preventing the peripheral debt crisis from escalating further are continuing to focus heavily on the role of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). Not only... 24th January 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Bank Negara to stay on hold, but it is a close call Malaysia’s central bank (BNM) meets on Thursday and will probably keep the overnight policy rate unchanged at 2.75%. The economic recovery has inevitably lost some momentum as exports have been hit by... 24th January 2011 · 1 min read
