Europe Economics Weekly Assessing the impact of the Ukraine war Next week we will learn more about the extent to which the Ukraine war is impacting economic activity. We have cut our GDP forecast by one percentage point for this year, but the risks to that... 18th March 2022 · 6 mins read
Europe Commercial Property Outlook War in Ukraine adds to uncertainty; retail most at risk While the direct impact of the war in Ukraine is likely to be small, we think there will be indirect consequences for euro-zone commercial property markets. Economic growth is expected to be slower... 18th March 2022 · 31 mins read
UK Commercial Property Chart Pack Property returns hit new decade high Commercial property is not showing any signs of slowing down. Rental growth rose further in February, while annual total returns climbed to a level last seen in Q4 2010. Industrial remains the main... 18th March 2022 · 7 mins read
Europe Data Response EZ Hourly Labour Costs (Q4) The latest data show that euro-zone wage growth remained subdued at the end of last year, despite reports of widespread labour shortages. The tightening in the labour market that we expect is likely... 18th March 2022 · 2 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Norges Bank to hike again; SNB to play it cool The Norges Bank will kick off the post-Olsen era next Thursday with a 25bp interest rate hike, to +0.75%, and while we expect it to raise rates three more times this year, the balance of risks is... 17th March 2022 · 7 mins read
Europe Economics Update Cyprus unlikely to be source of financial instability While Cyprus’s strong ties to Russia make it is vulnerable to recession, the country’s public finances and banking sector are in better shape than they were before the crisis which took place a decade... 17th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Asset Allocation Update Lower valuations may help European equities outperform Their net fall since the invasion of Ukraine means the valuations of European equities are now even lower relative to those of US stocks. While valuations have a mixed track record at predicting... 17th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Final HICP (Feb.) With the war in Ukraine pushing up energy and food prices and potentially exacerbating supply problems, we think euro-zone inflation will remain around 6% until Q4 and average well above 2% next year... 17th March 2022 · 2 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Mortgage rates will continue to rise Mortgage rates have been slow to respond to rising market interest rates, with lenders choosing to take a hit to their margins rather than fully offset increased funding costs. But we don’t think... 17th March 2022 · 3 mins read
UK Economics Focus Spring Fiscal Statement 2022 – Preview The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, will use his Spring Statement on 23 rd March to soften the blow for households facing rising energy and food costs. However, any hopes that he will announce a big handout... 16th March 2022 · 17 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russian banks: immediate crisis averted, but risks loom Russia’s banking sector has held up better than might have been expected through the initial stage of the crisis due to large, timely and widespread policy support. But banks will now face the... 16th March 2022 · 5 mins read
Europe Economics Update Ukraine war will push up euro-zone food inflation Food inflation in the euro-zone is on the rise and the war in Ukraine will make matters worse. While policymakers might normally “look through” a period of high food inflation, with the headline rate... 16th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update First signs of Ukraine war’s impact on euro-zone firms The latest surveys show that the war in Ukraine has severely dented euro-zone investors’ and companies’ perceptions of the outlook. This is consistent with our view that the war will cause a... 15th March 2022 · 2 mins read
UK Economics Labour Market (Jan./Feb.) The further fall in the unemployment rate to within a whisker of the pre-pandemic rate will only encourage the Bank of England to raise interest rates on Thursday, probably from 0.50% to 0.75%... 15th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update The implications of Russia’s impending default Russia’s government appears to be heading towards a default on its foreign currency debts for the first time since the Bolshevik revolution. This won’t affect the Russian government’s ability to... 14th March 2022 · 3 mins read
UK Economics Focus Fewer workers, higher wages We think that most of the fall in the size of the UK’s labour force since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic should eventually be reversed. Even so, we wouldn’t be surprised if this took another two... 14th March 2022 · 19 mins read
