Europe Commercial Property Update High income returns positive for Brussels offices A positive economic outlook for Belgium and a shortage of available Grade A stock bode well for office rents in Brussels. Foreign investors, in particular, are increasing exposure to the market as it... 11th July 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German ZEW (Jul.), French & Italian Ind. Prod. (May) The further decline in German ZEW investor sentiment seems to reflect concerns about the impact of possible protectionist measures. But May’s industrial production data for France and Italy support... 10th July 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly German industry rebounds, but are politics a threat? Immigration has remained very high up the political agenda this week, and while EU leaders reached a compromise on Monday, this is not a closed issue and tensions may well flare up again. Meanwhile... 6th July 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Q2 growth set to be healthy, but slower than last year Hard data relating to euro-zone activity in Q2 have been a little disappointing so far, denting hopes that GDP growth would rebound strongly after Q1’s 0.4% quarterly expansion. Industrial production... 5th July 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Healthy outlook for returns supports case for Denmark Record investment activity in Denmark underscores the positive outlook for returns in Copenhagen, especially in the industrial sector, which we expect to be the best-performing market in Western... 4th July 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Surveys still fairly upbeat, little progress on integration In our opinion, this week’s media coverage of the June EC and Ifo surveys was too downbeat. Both indicators are still consistent with annual GDP growth of over 2%. Other data told a familiar story of... 29th June 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update What can we learn from US property? As rising US Treasury yields have squeezed US property’s yield gap over the risk-free rate, investment volumes have dropped back and core office yields are rising. While Europe is lagging the US... 29th June 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Progress on Greece, ECB dovish, Ifo to offer comfort The big news this week was that Greece is finally emerging from a period of eight years under bailout programmes. But our judgement remains that the risks of a future Greek default and/or euro-zone... 22nd June 2018 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Wage growth generally still subdued Given the strength of their labour markets, wage inflation is likely to pick up a bit in the US, UK and, to a lesser extent, the euro-zone and Japan over the coming quarters. But as Jerome Powell... 20th June 2018 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Will Italian and Spanish equities remain safe havens? Benchmark equity indices in Italy and Spain have outperformed those elsewhere in Europe in the past days. But while the reasons for this may continue, they remain vulnerable to political risks. 20th June 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Will the Swiss and Nordic central banks follow the ECB? The Swiss and Nordic central banks are unlikely to follow the ECB in announcing significant changes to monetary policy over the next month. 18th June 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Why are we so bullish on Nordic office rents? Over the last decade, Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm have experienced a reduction in floorspace per employee. As a result, firms have been able to pay higher prime rents than previously. We think that... 15th June 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly What could upend the ECB’s plans? The ECB finally announced this week that the end of its asset purchase programme is in sight and that rates will stay on hold at least until the second half of 2019. But the ECB is not on auto-pilot... 15th June 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Labour Costs (Q1) & Goods Trade (Apr.) The pick-up in euro-zone wage growth in Q1 is another sign that the economy is moving in the right direction. Over the coming years, we think wage growth will continue to rise, but only gradually. So... 15th June 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB strikes dovish tone as asset purchases set to end The ECB announced today that its asset purchase programme will end in December. But its other communications reinforced our long-held view that interest rates will not rise until at least September... 14th June 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus Is the euro-zone’s recovery too good to last? Fears that the euro-zone’s recovery is going into reverse seem overdone. Weakness in Q1 related partly to temporary factors, the effects of Italian political turmoil have been contained and prospects... 13th June 2018 · 1 min read
