Europe Commercial Property Update Are German office yields too low? The recent flow of bad news on the German economy might suggest that the office market is beginning to look expensive. Yet, office/bond yield spreads are nearly as high now as they were at their peak... 26th August 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Belgium's political crisis yet to take its toll Belgium’s severe political deadlock seems to have done little harm so far. But the political crisis is still preventing crucial fiscal tightening from being implemented. The deadlock is also delaying... 25th August 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Ifo Survey (Aug.) August’s drop in the Ifo measure of business confidence added to the growing evidence that the German economic recovery has faltered. 25th August 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Chart Pack Euro-zone property investment market set to weaken Q2’s sharp slowdown in GDP growth in the euro-zone’s so-called “core” economies is a worrying sign that investor sentiment across the region as a whole could fall sharply in the near term. If that is... 24th August 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash PMIs & German ZEW Survey (Aug.) August’s first business and investor surveys suggest that activity in the euro-zone is stagnating at best. With Germany showing a particularly marked deterioration lately, the region’s strongest... 24th August 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Norwegian GDP (Q2) Q2’s GDP figures showed that the Norwegian economy expanded at a steady pace and added to evidence that it is less likely to suffer from a “double dip” than some of its European counterparts. Looking... 24th August 2011 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Norwegian GDP (Q2 11) Q2’s GDP figures showed that the Norwegian economy expanded at a steady pace and added to evidence that it is less likely to suffer from a “double dip” than some of its European counterparts. Looking... 23rd August 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Greece's second bail-out deal far from being concluded The dispute over the provision of collateral by Greece to some euro-zone economies in return for a second bail-out, coupled with the private sector’s reluctance to take part in a debt exchange, may... 23rd August 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Policymakers still unwilling to pull out all the stops Signs last week that European policymakers remain unwilling to take major steps towards fiscal union, coupled with very weak economic data and a renewed slump in equity prices, did nothing to alter... 23rd August 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Is Ireland over the worst? There have recently been signs that Ireland’s troubles may be starting to ease, but we still think that it faces a huge challenge to return its public finances to a stable footing. Accordingly, there... 19th August 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update On the road to fiscal union? Decisive steps towards greater fiscal integration across the euro-zone seem vital if the currency union is going to hold together in its current form. But recent comments from Angela Merkel and... 18th August 2011 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Does rising credit risk pose a threat to Bunds? The cost of insuring against a default by the German government for five years has nearly doubled since early July and now exceeds the cost of insuring against a default by the UK government for the... 18th August 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone crisis another headache for Iceland The Icelandic central bank’s surprise interest rate hike today was in stark contrast to the increasingly dovish tone of other central banks around the world. The move reflected a sharp increase in... 18th August 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Does Germany still want to save the euro? Germany’s reluctance or political inability to implement stronger measures to support the euro-zone’s periphery suggests that its appetite for the project might be fading. While euro-zone membership... 18th August 2011 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Euro-zone crisis another headache for Iceland The Icelandic central bank’s surprise interest rate hike today was in stark contrast to the increasingly dovish tone of other central banks around the world. The move reflected a sharp increase in... 17th August 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Euro-zone GDP figures point to softening property investment market Now that it is clear that the economic weakness observed in the euro-zone’s peripheral economies over the past year or so is spreading to the region’s core, commercial property investors might begin... 17th August 2011 · 1 min read
