Europe Commercial Property Update Downsizing not the only concern for German office demand The underperformance of the German office-based jobs sector since 2019 has been stark and the weak outlook for the economy suggests a material reversal is unlikely in the next five years. This will... 22nd January 2025 · 3 mins read
UK Economics Rapid Response UK Public Finances (Dec. 2024) Against a backdrop of slowing GDP growth and high interest rates, December’s overshoot in borrowing is further disappointing news for the Chancellor. That said, most of the overshoot was because of a... 22nd January 2025 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Focus French public debt: trouble brewing Developments over the past year have put France’s public debt on a steeper upward path, with the debt ratio now likely to rise from 113% of GDP last year to around 126% by 2030. We see little chance... 21st January 2025 · 14 mins read
UK Economics Rapid Response UK Labour Market (Nov. 2024) While the further rise in regular private sector pay growth in November will cause the Bank of England some unease, it will take comfort from the continued loosening in labour market activity. We... 21st January 2025 · 3 mins read
UK Economics Update Government spending may have saved the UK economy in Q4 We know that the economy flatlined or suffered a small contraction in Q4. But that would have been much worse if not for what appears to be a rise in government spending, which will play an important... 20th January 2025 · 3 mins read
Capital Daily Recent stock market patterns may not set the tone for 2025 Equities in Europe have done well so far this year, but we expect them to trail those in the US over the rest of 2025, as the US imposes universal tariffs and enthusiasm about AI returns. This would... 17th January 2025 · 5 mins read
UK Economics Weekly UK Weekly: The surprising coming shift in UK/US yields A more favourable outlook for inflation in the UK than in the US suggests to us that the bigger falls in UK gilt yields than US yields this week will continue throughout 2025. If we’re right, that... 17th January 2025 · 7 mins read
Commodities Weekly Commodities Weekly: Commodities caught in the geopolitical crossfire As the ramp-up in US sanctions against Russia's energy sector has demonstrated, commodities are increasingly being caught in the crossfire of broader geopolitical machinations and tariff policy. The... 17th January 2025 · 4 mins read
UK Commercial Property Update Are clouds forming over the UK property investment outlook? With commercial property capital values stabilising and credit conditions easing, the stage was set for a decent recovery in investment this year. However, the recent rise in gilt yields has cast a... 17th January 2025 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly Europe Weekly: Higher energy prices; good news on EZ consumption? Recent moves in oil and natural gas markets mean that inflation might be a bit higher this year than we previously assumed, but we still expect it to be around 2%. There have also been some tentative... 17th January 2025 · 5 mins read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone services disinflation will resume in 2025 Services inflation in the euro-zone was stuck around 4% last year but we remain convinced that it will decline significantly in 2025. 17th January 2025 · 2 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Emerging Europe Weekly: Israel-Hamas Ceasefire, CEE Forum The ceasefire deal agreed between Israel and Hamas this week will, if it sticks, lead to a sustained improvement in the outlook for growth, inflation and the public finances in Israel. We also outline... 17th January 2025 · 7 mins read
UK Economics Rapid Response UK Retail Sales (Dec. 2024) December’s 0.3% m/m fall in retail sales volumes was worse than expected (consensus forecast +0.4% m/m, CE 0.0% m/m) and rounded off a disappointing Q4, with sales declining by 0.8% q/q in Q4 overall... 17th January 2025 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Israel after the war: what comes next? The Israeli cabinet’s decision to delay a vote on approving the ceasefire with Hamas adds a high degree of uncertainty as to whether it will take effect on Sunday, as intended. If a ceasefire can... 16th January 2025 · 6 mins read
Emerging Europe Rapid Response Poland Interest Rate Announcement (Jan.) The National Bank of Poland (NBP) left its policy rate on hold again today, at 5.75%, and the inflation backdrop is likely to prevent the restart of the easing cycle for some time. We don’t expect... 16th January 2025 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Update Norges Bank set for gradual loosening cycle December’s weaker-than-expected inflation outturn won’t sway Norges Bank: we still expect it to wait until March to start cutting interest rates. We suspect that it will then lower rates gradually... 16th January 2025 · 3 mins read