Europe Commercial Property Update Is Paris' office rental recovery running out of steam? We suspect that Q3’s halt to Paris’ prime office rental recovery is a temporary blip on a generally upward trend. Indeed, although service sector sentiment has remained broadly flat for the past few... 21st October 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia to get a near-term boost from higher oil prices In light of the recent upward revision to our near-term profile for oil prices, we have pushed up our Russian growth and inflation forecasts for 2011. But the economy remains vulnerable to the fall in... 21st October 2010 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Focus Is UK mortgage affordability worse than other countries? Intuitively, one might expect the high population density and apparent structural undersupply of housing in the UK to mean that we have historically spent a higher proportion of our earnings on... 21st October 2010 · 1 min read
UK Data Response UK Retail Sales (Sep.) September’s retail sales figures provided further evidence to suggest that consumers have begun to rein in their expenditure even before the fiscal squeeze has begun. 21st October 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash PMIs (Oct.) October’s fall in the euro-zone composite PMI adds to evidence that the recovery is stalling and that the external revival is failing to boost domestic spending. 21st October 2010 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazilian interest rates on hold as currency concerns mount Last night, the Brazilian Central Bank held interest rates at 10.75% for the second consecutive month. Concerns about the strength of the real mean that rate hikes are off the agenda for the... 21st October 2010 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Growth stabilises, inflation still not a threat Today's data did not show the upsurge in inflation that some had thought might have triggered this week's interest rate hikes. Q3 GDP growth too was in line with initial expectations. Instead, the... 21st October 2010 · 1 min read
Capital Daily Gilts relieved by UK government's commitment to spending cuts 21st October 2010 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Will landlords gain most from the Spending Review? Today’s Spending Review was never going to be good for the housing sector. The target for 150,000 new affordable homes to be built over the next four years represents a cut of almost 30% in affordable... 20th October 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Spending Review spells out the pain In spelling out the detail of the planned cuts in public spending, today’s Spending Review underlined the challenge the Government faces to sort out the public finances. We continue to believe that... 20th October 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Falls in Dutch retail yields are starting to fizzle out Q3’s sharp slowdown in the pace of Dutch retail yield falls supports our view that there is little value left in the market. Although sound public finances and a solid labour market are positive... 20th October 2010 · 1 min read
UK Data Response MPC Minutes (Oct.), M4 & Public Finances (Sep.) The minutes to October’s MPC meeting provided further evidence to suggest that the Committee is moving closer to recommencing quantitative easing, while September’s public finance figures cast further... 20th October 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Thailand's monetary tightening still has further to go The Bank of Thailand (BoT) held its policy rate at 1.75% today but maintained a tightening bias. Domestic demand looks well placed to drive GDP growth, while the strong recovery should increasingly... 20th October 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Polish prospects picking up, but challenges remain The outlook for Poland remains amongst the best in the region, and we now expect the economy to expand by 3% next year (from 2.5% before). But with further steps needed to tackle the large structural... 20th October 2010 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Outlook Not out of the woods yet A double-dip in both housing activity and prices is underway. Prices are likely to fall for the next 12 months, while activity will remain weak for at least three years. 19th October 2010 · 1 min read
