Europe Economics Weekly Further thoughts on the ECB Yesterday’s ECB decision was more hawkish than expected, so while we are sticking to our view that QE will end in Q3 and the Bank will raise interest rates in December, the risks are now skewed... 11th March 2022 · 6 mins read
Energy Update Can Russia evade sanctions on its crude exports? Even if the West bans crude imports from Russia entirely, the Iranian experience suggests that there will still be ways for Russia to get its oil onto global markets. But any workarounds would take... 11th March 2022 · 3 mins read
UK Economics GDP & International Trade (Jan.) The cost of living crisis and the influence of the war in Ukraine probably means that the 0.8% m/m leap in GDP in January is as good as it gets for this year. Meanwhile, two-thirds of the huge 20% m/m... 11th March 2022 · 4 mins read
UK Economics War won’t derail the MPC’s rate hiking plans The economic consequences of the war in Ukraine have worsened the already tricky mix between soaring inflation and slowing GDP growth. But we think the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is sufficiently... 10th March 2022 · 8 mins read
Europe Economics Update ECB accelerates taper despite Ukraine war In today’s monetary policy statement, the ECB said the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a watershed moment for Europe, but it concluded that it does not require a big change in monetary policy. Indeed... 10th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Russian energy sanctions, non-Gulf external strains build The US and UK embargoes on Russian energy exports could open the door for the Gulf countries to raise oil production more quickly and implement their long-term strategies of capturing market share... 10th March 2022 · 6 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Energy embargo to deepen Russia’s contraction The US and UK energy embargos will reduce Russian exports by just 0.6% of GDP, but adding in the EU’s plan to reduce Russian natural gas imports takes the total loss of export revenues closer to 2% of... 10th March 2022 · 5 mins read
Emerging Markets Financial Risk Monitor War in Ukraine heightens risks in fragile EMs Financial markets in Central Europe have been hit hard by the contagion from the war in Ukraine, but spill-overs to other EMs have been limited so far. If the war were to result in a sustained period... 10th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update The costs of Russia’s shift towards isolation It is highly likely that the war in Ukraine will accelerate Russia’s shift towards isolation and into autarky. This will prevent Russia from catching up with more advanced economies, while the West... 10th March 2022 · 6 mins read
Europe Economics ECB FX intervention is unlikely There has been some discussion of possible FX intervention by the ECB to support the euro, but there is next to no chance of that being announced at today’s press conference, and unless the single... 10th March 2022 · 3 mins read
UK Commercial Property Update South East office rents unlikely to rebound in 2022 The South East jobs market turned a corner during the second half of 2021. But while occupier activity has picked up, vacancy has also risen. As a result of this, and the effects of economic headwinds... 10th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update EU mulls another round of joint bond issuance The EU is considering more joint bond issuance, reportedly of around €200bn or 1.4% of EU GDP. If this is agreed, the devil will be in the detail and the amounts involved may fall short of some... 9th March 2022 · 4 mins read
UK Economics The influence of the war on the UK economy The UK is not as exposed to the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine as the rest of Europe. Even so, in response to the surge in global commodity prices caused by the war we have dramatically... 9th March 2022 · 9 mins read
Emerging Europe Data Response Russia Consumer Prices (Feb.) Russian inflation rose to 9.2% y/y in February and, more importantly, the weekly CPI figures up to 4 th March (also just released) show that the collapse in the ruble led to a particularly sharp 2.2%... 9th March 2022 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics EU’s pivot away from Russian gas will come at a price While the plan to reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian gas this year seems achievable, it will only lock in higher-for-longer gas prices and prolong the squeeze on household incomes. 9th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update A deep dive into Russian corporate debt risks The growing list of countries imposing restrictions on Russia’s energy exports has raised the likelihood of a deeper contraction in Russia’s economy this year and a wave of corporate defaults. This... 9th March 2022 · 5 mins read
