ECB Watch Draghi will be dovish, but ECB nearing its limits President Draghi will respond to German politicians’ recent criticism of the ECB’s ultra-loose policy at the meeting on 21st April by reiterating the Bank’s independence and stressing that more... 15th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economic Outlook Policymakers running out of ammunition The euro-zone’s gradual recovery appears to be slowing as we had warned as boosts from the euro’s depreciation and falling oil prices fade. However, the ECB has hinted at limits to its future policy... 14th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Record take-up points to logistics rental growth across Germany In 2015, German logistics take-up hit a new record. Although the Kiel Institute’s logistics sentiment indicator fell to its lowest level in three years in Q1, consumer goods companies and delivery... 14th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update What might Brexit mean for European property? It is most likely that the UK will vote to stay in the EU. However, in the event of a ‘leave’ vote, it is not necessarily the case that European commercial property investment would be immediately... 13th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Industrial Production (Feb.) Despite February’s fall in industrial production, the sector looks likely to have had a fairly strong Q1. But survey evidence suggests that this is unlikely to be sustained. 13th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly ECB’s mixed messages risk falling on deaf ears ECB officials appear to be trying to strike a balance between holding the door open to further policy action and yet stressing the limitations of monetary policy in order to pressure governments into... 8th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Prague high streets offer decent value despite historically low yields Positive consumer sector fundamentals reinforce our belief that prime retail rental values in Prague will rise by 3.7% p.a. in 2016-18. Low alternative asset yields and positive fundamentals mean that... 8th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Consumer recovery set to fade February’s rise in euro-zone retail sales volumes caused the annual growth rate to pick back up to a healthy 2.4% and suggests that total consumer spending growth accelerated in the first quarter... 6th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Industrial Production (Feb.) February’s surprisingly small fall in German industrial production offers hope of a pick-up in GDP growth in the first quarter. But it is too early to conclude that the euro-zone’s main growth engine... 6th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus Can Italy’s recovery continue? After years of recession, the Italian economy returned to growth last year and further policy support could see the recovery pick up slightly in 2016. But there has been little improvement in the... 5th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Fiscal Monitor (Mar.) The latest fiscal data for central governments show that Greece made a notably strong start to 2016 while the performance over the periphery as a whole was mixed . Meanwhile, the first releases of... 5th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Retail Sales (Feb.) & Final PMIs (Mar.) February’s euro-zone retail sales data point to strong consumer spending growth in Q1, but we doubt that this will be sustained. And the downward revision to March’s Composite PMI added to signs that... 5th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Greece/IMF spat underlines fragility of bailout The public spat between Greece and the IMF underlines the fragility of the country’s latest bailout deal and demonstrates that its long-term future inside the currency union is still far from assured... 4th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Unemployment & Producer Prices (Feb.) February’s fall in euro-zone unemployment suggests that the labour market remains in reasonable health, but it is still too weak to generate any real inflationary pressure. 4th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Central European yield falls to outstrip other European sub-regions With property yields in Western Europe at historic lows, investors are looking to core CE markets for higher income returns. This will lead to heightened competition for assets in these markets and... 1st April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly The euro-zone’s consumer recovery is slowing We have argued for some time that the consumer recovery, which was the main driver of growth in 2015, would slow this year. Last week brought further evidence that this process is underway. Declining... 1st April 2016 · 1 min read
