Europe Economics Update Could the euro-zone mimic the UK’s recovery? On the face of it, the UK’s impressive economic recovery offers significant hope to the euro-zone. Butwe think that still high levels of debt and a relatively timid monetary policy response will... 25th July 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Monetary Indicators Monitor (Jun.) Although June’s euro-zone monetary data showed some further signs of improvement, lending is still falling and the data point to a significant risk of deflation in the region. 25th July 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Ifo Survey (Jul.) & Consumer Confidence (Aug.) July’s drop in the German Ifo Business Climate Indicator (BCI) is another worryingsign that the recovery may have passed its peak. 25th July 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update How competitive is Greece now? The sharp fall in wages and recent flurry of structural reforms in Greece has not yet fed intocompetitiveness gains. Greece is still not able to run the sustained external surpluses that it needs. 24th July 2014 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Franco-German divergence spells trouble ahead Although purchasing managers surveys for July, released earlier today, suggest that the economicrecovery in the euro-zone as a whole is regaining momentum, they also still show a large gap betweenthe... 24th July 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update New Belgian coalition is likely to disappoint News that the three major Flemish parties have formed a regional government raises hopes that Belgium’s federal political deadlock will be resolved soon. But the proposed national coalition looks set... 24th July 2014 · 1 min read
Commodities Update PMIs to provide only limited support to commodity prices Despite the rise in the PMIs in both China and the euro-zone in July, the near-termoutlooks for industrial commodity and oil prices remain weak. Indeed, there arelingering concerns that the euro-zone... 24th July 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash PMIs (Jul.) The jump in the flash composite PMI in July suggested that euro-zone activity picked up at the start of Q3 but it is unlikely to alleviate concerns that the recovery in the euro-zone is already... 24th July 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Spanish GDP (Q2 est.) The Banco De Espana’s estimate that Spanish GDP rose by 0.5% in Q2 suggests thatSpain may have been one of the strongest euro-zone economies last quarter. But wedoubt that Spain’s recovery can... 23rd July 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update What explains the weakness of Belgian and Italian investment? Belgium’s weak economic fundamentals mean it sits near the bottom of the rankings in terms of core euro-zone commercial property investment destinations. While Italy suffers from an even weaker... 22nd July 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Fears of a German housing bubble are overblown German house price inflation is modest by international standards, housing remains affordable andmortgage debt is low. Accordingly, fears of overheating seem overdone and should not ultimatelyprevent... 21st July 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly ECB edging slowly towards quantitative easing ECB President Mario Draghi’s statement last week that “QE falls squarely in our mandate” was perhaps the strongest signal yet that the ECB is considering bolder policy support. But Bundesbank... 21st July 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Subsidence in the French construction sector Construction is set to remain one of the worst performing parts of the French economy. The sector’sproblems are symptomatic of the challenges facing the broader economy. 18th July 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus France to fall further behind Germany The recent underperformance of the French economy compared to Germany reflects fundamentalfactors that will drive an even greater wedge between the two economies over time. Thisdivergence will... 17th July 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update A positive outlook for Dublin retail property The latest data showing that Dublin’s employment and housing market recovery are running ahead of the rest of Ireland bode well for retail occupier demand in the Irish capital. And, with tight supply... 17th July 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Trade (May) May’s euro-zone trade data provided some tentative signs that exports may bebeginning to pick up. But the external sector remains too weak to offset fears that thedomestic recovery is faltering at an... 16th July 2014 · 1 min read
