Europe Economics Update More policy easing still likely under Lagarde While Ms Lagarde’s assessment of the outlook in today’s press conference was slightly less gloomy than Mr Draghi’s in October, this does not change our view that the ECB will loosen policy again... 12th December 2019 · 3 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update SNB halfway through a sub-zero decade Today’s decision by the Swiss National Bank to leave its policy stance unchanged came as a surprise to nobody. Five years on since the Bank first cut interest rates into negative territory, there is... 12th December 2019 · 3 mins read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Industrial Production (Oct.) October’s sharp fall in euro-zone industrial production adds to the evidence that the sector’s troubles are far from over. We expect the sector to remain in recession at the start of next year. 12th December 2019 · 2 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Swedish Consumer Prices (Nov.) The pick-up in Swedish inflation in November means that a rate hike by the Riksbank next week is all but guaranteed. But with surveys continuing to show that the economy is struggling, and core... 11th December 2019 · 2 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Central Bank of Iceland in “wait-and-see” mode After cutting rates by 150bps since April, the Central Bank of Iceland kept its deposit rate at its current record low of 3.00% today. We suspect that in the absence of a sharp and sustained fall in... 11th December 2019 · 2 mins read
Europe Chart Pack Economic activity still losing momentum Hopes that the euro-zone is turning a corner look premature. The latest activity data have been disappointing, with retail sales falling in October and national data pointing to another decline in... 10th December 2019 · 11 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Focus The lessons from negative interest rates so far There is little evidence that negative interest rates have succeeded in boosting economic growth or inflation expectations. But equally, they do not seem to have done much harm either – many of the... 9th December 2019 · 14 mins read
Europe Commercial Property Focus Does European property still offer attractive returns? Set against other asset classes, European commercial property looks fairly valued. Our returns forecasts for 2020-23 of around 5% p.a. on an MSCI all-property basis will look relatively attractive in... 9th December 2019 · 12 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly Gloomy data ahead of Lagarde’s ECB debut Data released this week have reinforced our view that economic growth is likely to slow in the coming quarters. Next week, Christine Lagarde’s debut press conference will be watched closely for any... 6th December 2019 · 5 mins read
Europe Data Response German Industrial Production (Oct.) The sharp drop in production in October was driven by a slump in auto production and suggests that, far from bottoming out, Germany’s industrial contraction may even be getting worse. The economy... 6th December 2019 · 2 mins read
ECB Watch ECB to loosen policy before policy review is complete With little chance of any policy action at the ECB meeting next Thursday, the focus will be on how President Lagarde performs in the press conference and on the scope and timetable for the planned... 5th December 2019 · 8 mins read
Europe Commercial Property Outlook Lower yields to support capital values We expect a further slowdown in euro-zone economic growth in 2020 to weigh on rental growth. However, with interest rates set to be cut next year and remain at this low level, there isn’t likely to be... 5th December 2019 · 30 mins read
Europe Economics Update Slowing housing market won’t derail Spain’s economy House price inflation in Spain is now slowing but we do not envisage a slump in property prices that would derail GDP growth. After all, economic and financial conditions are supportive and there is... 5th December 2019 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update How big a risk is the collapse of Italy’s government? Our economic forecasts for Italy are based on the assumption that the coalition government holds together, at least for the next two years. But in our view, the economic impact would be small if it... 3rd December 2019 · 3 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Nov.) The falls in the Swiss and Swedish manufacturing PMIs in November dash any hopes that the manufacturing sectors have gathered momentum in Q4. With the manufacturing recession in Germany set to rumble... 2nd December 2019 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly Greening the ECB, surveys still downbeat The ECB may start to pay a lot of attention to climate change under Christine Lagarde’s leadership. But for the foreseeable future it will struggle to achieve its main objective of getting inflation... 29th November 2019 · 8 mins read
