UK Commercial Property Data Response Commercial property investment (Dec.) December’s investment figures posted a healthy 21% monthly increase, which brought the annual total to £49bn. A closer reading of the data also revealed that while there are few signs of a reversal in... 13th January 2017 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Côte d’Ivoire: Political turbulence won’t knock economy off course Last week’s abortive army mutiny has focused attention on the political fragility of Côte d’Ivoire, which suffered a series of political and economic crises between 1993 and 2011. But we expect that... 13th January 2017 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Trump takes over Two months after his surprise election night victory, Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States this Friday. We said on election night that, more than anything else... 13th January 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Is euro-zone wage growth set to take off? Wage growth was subdued in 2016, but the recent decline in the euro-zone unemployment rate to an 87-month low, taken in isolation, points to a strong pick-up from here. On the face of it, that... 13th January 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Poor infrastructure to remain a drag on growth Poor infrastructure remains a major constraint on economic growth prospects across large parts of Emerging Asia. A couple of countries, namely the Philippines and Thailand, are likely to see a big... 13th January 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Investment in Germany slips, but pricing continues to firm Following a record 2015, investment activity in Germany slipped a little in 2016. However, prime office yields fell further in Q4, suggesting that investors still see value in the German market. 13th January 2017 · 1 min read
UK Commercial Property Data Response Bank of England Credit Conditions Survey (Q4) The supply of residential mortgage credit worsened a touch in the fourth quarter. But there was no sign of a drop in lenders’ risk appetite or market share objectives, suggesting that credit... 13th January 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Update China’s commodity imports hit new records in 2016 China’s commodity import volumes remained high in December, corroborating data showing a pick-up in activity in the final months of 2016. However, the strength of imports cannot be attributed solely... 13th January 2017 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly Should we worry about a consumer boom? The recent strong growth of unsecured household borrowing has prompted concerns that, far from snapping their wallets shut in response to Brexit worries, UK consumers have embarked on another credit... 13th January 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Can the Gulf’s currency pegs withstand a stronger dollar? The appreciation of the US dollar since the end of last year has prompted renewed concerns over the sustainability of currency pegs in the Gulf, but we think these fears are overdone. Oil prices are... 13th January 2017 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Peru holds interest rates, next move still likely to be up Peru’s central bank left its key policy interest rate unchanged at 4.25% for the twelfth consecutive month, but with inflation still above target and the risks skewed to the upside, we expect... 13th January 2017 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Formation of new Icelandic Government opens door for further rate cuts In the land of fire and ice, currency movements in 2016 resembled an erupting volcano rather than a creeping glacier. The appreciating króna put downward pressure on inflation, prompting the Central... 13th January 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly How much will housing help? After contributing 0.5 percentage points to the annual rate of GDP growth in Australia in each of the past two years, it looks as though dwellings investment will add almost nothing to growth this... 13th January 2017 · 1 min read
ECB Watch ECB to hold its course despite rising inflation The ECB will not announce any policy changes next week after last month’s pledge to buy at least €60bn of assets per month until the end of 2017. President Draghi is likely to restate the Governing... 12th January 2017 · 1 min read
