Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Interest rates to be left unchanged until 2017 The Norges Bank is almost certain to leave monetary policy unchanged at its meeting on 27th October. Indeed, at its last meeting in September the Bank changed the wording in its policy statement from... 21st October 2016 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch No need for the Riksbank to loosen policy further Inflation has undershot the Riksbank’s forecastssince it last met to set policy in September. Butwe expect inflation to rise again before long, andwith economic conditions strong there is lesspressure... 20th October 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB signals December QE extension President Draghi did not explicitly promise imminent policy action today. But he signalled that assetpurchases would not end abruptly. And as tapering has apparently still not been discussed, we... 20th October 2016 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Swedish Labour Force Survey (Sep.) September’s Swedish Labour Force Survey confirmed that the previous month’s poorresults were a one-off and highlights the tightness of the labour market. With firms’hiring intentions picking up in... 20th October 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Rise in French unemployment is a worrying sign The recent increase in French unemployment seems unlikely to be reversed rapidly. And while a new government may be elected next year promising job-boosting reforms, its success will be limited by... 18th October 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Investment in mainland Europe running at nine-year high The first European investment data for Q3 show that volumes were down sharply compared to the same quarter a year ago. But that was driven by subdued activity in the UK which, being one of the most... 18th October 2016 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economic Outlook Policy divergences to favour Swedish krona The Nordic and Swiss economies’ reasonable economic performance, low public debt and stable political backdrop should help to maintain their safe haven status. But there will be some marked economic... 17th October 2016 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Cautious SNB won’t hike rates for some time yet Fears that domestic price pressures might prompt the Swiss National Bank to tighten monetary policy proved unfounded today as it left its interest rate target at 0.25%. The Bank’s tone was gloomier... 16th October 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Q3 data point to fairly slow growth Recent official activity data for the euro-zone have been fairly encouraging. Coupled with the unofficial survey evidence, they suggest that the region’s GDP growth might have maintained its pace or... 14th October 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Trade (Aug.) The euro-zone’s goods trade surplus rose in August, but it probably fell over Q3 as a whole. Looking ahead, we think that the trade surplus will narrow further this year as global demand growth... 14th October 2016 · 1 min read
ECB Watch Preparing for a December QE extension The ECB’s Governing Council is unlikely to unveil any policy changes at its forthcoming meeting on 20th October. But we expect it to prepare the ground for an extension of its Asset Purchase Programme... 13th October 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Is investor confidence in Madrid offices misplaced? A sharp decline in prime Madrid office yields has fully closed the spread over Milan for just the third time since 1991. With a stronger economic outlook, we think investors will continue to favour... 13th October 2016 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Tide turning towards stimulus With central banks running out of firepower, public finances in a better state than they have been for a long time and sovereign bond yields exceptionally low, it is not surprising that some... 12th October 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Industrial Production (Aug.) The sharp rise in euro-zone industrial production in August suggests that the sectorprovided a positive, albeit small, boost to GDP growth in Q3. However, industry isunlikely to be able to prevent the... 12th October 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Oslo retail rents to lift higher, despite slow economic growth The Norwegian consumer sector has been resilient in the face of the most recent economic slowdown. Additionally, retail sales in Oslo have outperformed the national average and will support strong... 12th October 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German ZEW Survey (Oct.) October’s rise in the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment is broadly encouraging, although the index still points to a slowdown in German GDP growth. 11th October 2016 · 1 min read
