Europe Data Response German Ifo Survey (Jun.) June’s improvement in the German Ifo business survey came as a relief amid evidence elsewhere that troubles in the periphery are starting to damage sentiment in core euro-zone countries. 22nd June 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Euro’s decline to resume before long On the face of it, the fact that the euro last week saw its strongest weekly gain in nine months might suggest that the worst is past for the single currency. The improvement could partly have... 21st June 2010 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update SNB to scale back currency intervention The SNB’s hints that it will scale back its currency intervention suggest that the franc is set to appreciate more sharply and interbank interest rates should rise back towards the Bank’s target of 0... 17th June 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update SNB to scale back currency intervention The SNB’s hints that it will scale back its currency intervention suggest that the franc is set to appreciate more sharply and interbank interest rates should rise back towards the Bank’s target of 0... 17th June 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update How far is Swiss intervention propping up the euro? Speculation that the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB’s) currency intervention has stemmed the decline in the trade-weighted euro seems overplayed. But the SNB’s struggle to prevent the franc surging... 16th June 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German ZEW (Jun.), E-Z Trade (Apr.) & Employment (Q1) June’s drop in German ZEW investor confidence is a worrying sign that fears about peripheral debt are damaging sentiment towards core euro-zone economies too. 15th June 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Industrial Production (Apr.) The recovery in the euro-zone industrial sector continues apace. But it is far from clear that this will help the weakest economies in the region to cope with the coming fiscal squeeze. 14th June 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Will Swiss commercial property outperformance last? Our more upbeat forecasts for the Swiss economy relative to the euro-zone do not imply that Swiss property will continue to outperform. Indeed, we see yields staying put until 2012, meaning that its... 14th June 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Recovery continues, but fiscal squeeze looms On the face of it, the latest news on the euro-zone economy has been reasonably encouraging, suggesting that the recovery has continued despite the fiscal crisis. National data point to another... 14th June 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB maintains a dovish stance The ECB maintained a supportive stance today, treating signs of an economic recovery with caution. While the Bank seems unlikely to resort to outright quantitative easing for now, sterilised bond... 10th June 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Germany will lag the industrial property recovery in France Despite a stronger recovery in German industrial production, the French industrial property market is performing better than Germany’s. While we suspect that the extent of that relative outperformance... 10th June 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Bold fiscal plans are still not enough While the recent flurry of austerity measures in Germany and elsewhere goes some way towards meeting deficit reduction targets, there is considerably more to be done. And with the cuts already... 10th June 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Italian GDP (Q1), Italian & French Industrial Production (Apr.) Q1’s GDP figures confirmed that, for now at least, Italy is expanding at a reasonably healthy pace. But with signs that the euro-zone fiscal crisis is damaging business and consumer confidence, growth... 10th June 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Fiscal crisis starting to weigh on confidence Markets’ continued concern about the euro-zone fiscal outlook has prompted the euro to depreciate further and peripheral government bond yields to remain high over the past month. Worryingly, there... 9th June 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Industrial Production/Trade & French Trade (Apr.) April’s rise in German industrial production provides hope that the recovery in the wider economy is gaining momentum. But with fiscal policy in Germany and elsewhere set to be tightened dramatically... 8th June 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Sustained rises in Dutch office vacancy rates will impact rental values To date, Dutch office rental values have proved remarkably resilient to the sharp spike in vacancy rates. Yet, with demand still weakening and new supply still running at uncomfortably high levels, if... 8th June 2010 · 1 min read
