Europe Data Response Euro-zone Industrial Production (Mar.) March’s euro-zone industrial production figures add to evidence that the recovery in the sector is starting to lose a bit of steam. This supports our view that GDP growth is likely to be pretty... 12th May 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update German industrial recovery still insufficient to trigger rental growth This morning’s German trade balance data, together with last week’s production data, suggest that Germany’s industrial recovery still has plenty of momentum. Yet, the strong recovery seen so far has... 9th May 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update What next for Greece? European officials have bowed to the inevitable and accepted the need to extend Greece’s bail-out package. But we still think that it is inevitable that Greece will have to restructure its debts at... 9th May 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Will the Portuguese bail-out work? It is not surprising that the positive market reaction to the initial details of Portugal’s package last week was short-lived. On the face of it, the bail-out may turn out to be more successful than... 9th May 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Industrial Production (Mar.) March’s German industrial production figures add to other signs that the wider economy made a strong start to the year. But there is growing evidence that the industrial recovery may have started to... 6th May 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Spanish GDP (Bank of Spain Estimate, Q1) Initial estimates of Spanish GDP growth in Q1 suggest that the economy continued to expand at the start of this year, but only just. There remains a risk of a “double dip”, which could prompt Spain to... 6th May 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB softens its stance slightly Having kept interest rates unchanged at 1.25% as expected, President Trichet’s comments in the press conference appeared to provide tentative support to the view that the ECB is not about to embark on... 5th May 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Euro-zone recovery starting to falter Recent falls in euro-zone leading economic indicators suggest that the recovery in the region as a whole may be starting to falter. Admittedly, despite falling for a the third time in four months in... 4th May 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Will retail continue to be investors' sector of choice in Europe? In Q1 2011, the retail sector accounted for the greatest share of total European commercial property investment market activity. However, this morning’s dreadful retail sales data are consistent with... 4th May 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Greek default worries deepen Last week was another bad one for Greece. Markets are now increasingly convinced not only that Greece will default, but that it may happen before the European Stabilisation Mechanism comes into... 2nd May 2011 · 1 min read
ECB Watch "Strong vigilance" would signal June hike With recent communications from the ECB maintaining a distinctly hawkish tone, President Trichet could use Thursday’s post rate-announcement press conference to signal that the next hike in interest... 28th April 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Tighter credit to weigh on the commercial property recovery Today’s ECB Bank Lending Survey makes disappointing reading for the commercial property market. The renewed tightening in credit conditions to both households and firms adds to the case for expecting... 27th April 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus Is the euro doomed to fail? The deepening problems in the euro-zone’s peripheral economies beg the question of whether the single currency union is doomed to fail. If failure means that it does not survive and prosper in its... 27th April 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Flash CPI (Apr.) April’s sharp rise in the German CPI inflation figures will do nothing to ease the ECB’s concerns over rising inflationary pressures. But the pick-up is not quite as alarming as it initially seems. 27th April 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economic Outlook Two-speed recovery set to slow The European economic recovery has remained very much of the two-speed variety as the eurozone’s core economies and some countries outside the single currency area have grown robustly, while the... 27th April 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Fiscal Monitor (Apr.) Official public finances data for 2010 confirmed that while the core economies are making clear progress to rein in their budget deficits, the periphery’s fiscal problems are far from over. 26th April 2011 · 1 min read
