Europe Commercial Property Update Is Q4’s Brussels office occupier market rebound sustainable? The spectacular rebound in office take-up in Brussels at the end of 2009 does not appear to be a total one-off. Indeed, relatively strong underlying demand and service sector sentiment suggests that... 23rd February 2010 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Mexico: Unbalanced recovery to fizzle out later this year 23rd February 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Ifo Survey (Feb.) & French Consumer Spending (Jan.) The latest data add to the recent run of bad news. With German Ifo business sentiment falling in February and French consumer spending dropping in January, there is little hope that the euro-zone... 23rd February 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly The bumblebee economy Scientists have reportedly proved that bumblebees cannot fly because of their awful aerodynamics (the bees, not the experts). Fortunately, the insects just carry on regardless. Sometimes it feels the... 22nd February 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Is Japan the next Greece? Japan should be able to avoid the sort of crisis that has hit Greece so hard. Government debt may be even larger in Japan, but the country is in a much stronger position in almost every other respect. 22nd February 2010 · 1 min read
Non-Euro Europe Commercial Property Chart Pack Lacklustre economies weigh on occupier markets (Feb 10) Rental values in most sectors and locations either fell or were unchanged in Q4. The sharpest declines occurred in the industrial sector. Scandinavia led a recovery in the investment market and... 22nd February 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Singapore budget targets productivity growth The 2010 budget, published today, focused on structural reforms to enhance the already-high flexibility of Singapore’s economy. Global and regional conditions will become more challenging during the... 22nd February 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Thailand’s recovery will be impressive in coming quarters Today’s Thai Q4 GDP data were stronger than our above-consensus forecast, with growth being led by government spending and household consumption. We expect that GDP growth will stay high for a few... 22nd February 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Taiwan’s growth surge won’t last Taiwan’s growth looks likely to far outpace expectations in 2010, but economic activity will not feel so healthy on the ground. 22nd February 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungary: NBH to continue with cautious cuts Some commentators think that this afternoon’s decision by the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) to cut interest rates by 25bps to 5.75% will mark the end of the current easing cycle. However, while the... 22nd February 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Greek tragedy to temper EMU expansion Recent events in Greece have fundamentally weakened the economic arguments in favour of a rapid expansion of the euro-zone to include EU member states in the East. Political appetite for euro-area... 22nd February 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Recovery struggling to maintain momentum (Feb-10) The new year got off to a very weak start. Admittedly, temporary factors played some part in this. Not only did the snow discourage spending, but consumers may have pulled forward purchases of... 22nd February 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly A week to forget! Last week was clearly one to forget in terms of news on the UK economy. Inflation rose to a 14 month high, unemployment resumed its upward trend, bank lending weakened, retail spending collapsed and... 22nd February 2010 · 1 min read
