Nordic & Swiss Economics Update SNB ready to do more if deflation risks rise The Swiss National Bank pledged to maintain its extremely supportive policy stance today, keeping interest rates as close to zero as possible and defending its exchange rate ceiling. But even at the... 14th March 2013 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Norges Bank will continue to push back rate hikes The Norges Bank’s decision to leave the policy rate unchanged reflects the dilemma facing the Bank as a strong currency prevents it from hiking rates to stem a housing boom. These countervailing... 14th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update What’s left in the ECB toolbox for SMEs? Reviving lending to small and medium-sized enterprises is crucial for the euro-zone’s prospects given the importance of these firms to the region, particularly in the periphery. Indeed, ECB President... 13th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Is austerity working after all? Despite concerns that austerity is not working in the euro-zone, most of the region’s peripheral economies managed to reduce their budget deficits in 2012. But fiscal progress has been slower than... 13th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Industrial Production (Jan.) January’s fall in euro-zone industrial production is a timely reminder that, despite the improvement in business and financial market sentiment, the region is likely to have remained in recession in... 13th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Is Italy really on autopilot? We are not fully convinced by the argument espoused by Mario Draghi that Italian fiscal policy is on “automatic pilot” and that the budget deficit will narrow regardless of who eventually takes power... 12th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Have the risks of a fall in Prague retail rents receded? After a difficult year, yesterday’s report of an uptick in Czech consumer spending is welcome news for retailers. But the outlook for spending is subdued, while the supply of new retail space is... 12th March 2013 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Focus Will Denmark remain the Nordic laggard? Denmark is finally dragging itself out of its long slump. Households have started to deleverage, exporters have become more competitive and banks are now stronger. But given that these adjustments... 12th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update No sign of respite for the Portuguese economy The detailed Portuguese GDP release for Q4 confirmed that the economy is in a worryingly deep and broad-based recession. The lack of evidence that the downturn is easing, coupled with voters’ growing... 11th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Italian GDP (Q4), French Ind. Prod. & German Trade (Jan.) On balance, the latest batch of hard economic data from the euro-zone’s three largest economies makes fairly grim reading and casts further doubt on the view that the region as whole has begun to grow... 11th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Is the ECB really out of ammo? The ECB’s inaction despite predicting continued recession and below-target inflation suggests that the central bank is either out of policy ammunition or holding what little it has back for an even... 11th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Industrial Production (Jan.) January’s German industrial production figures added to the evidence that the economy entered 2013 in a better state than it ended 2012. But for the time being at least, growth seems to be modest at... 8th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Iceland GDP (Q4) Q4’s Icelandic GDP data confirmed that the economy is slowly recovering from its financial crisis. But while Iceland looks set to continue to outperform the peripheral euro-zone economies this year... 8th March 2013 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Iceland GDP (Q4 12) Q4’s Icelandic GDP data confirmed that the economy is slowly recovering from its financial crisis. But while Iceland looks set to continue to outperform the peripheral euro-zone economies this year... 8th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB hints at limited support at best While some members of the European Central Bank’s Governing Council voted for an interest rate cut today, the majority still seems unconvinced that this would do any good. What’s more, the Bank... 7th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Focus Why are office rents more volatile in Madrid than Barcelona? In each of the previous two cycles, office rents rose much further in Madrid than Barcelona. But there is nothing to suggest that structural features of the Madrid market lie behind the more volatile... 7th March 2013 · 1 min read
