Europe Economics Update Spanish bank plans unlikely to be a game changer News that the Spanish Government will force the troubled banks to boost their capital ratios is an encouraging sign that it is trying to tackle the economy’s fundamental problems. But we doubt that... 25th January 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Ireland's political turmoil not as disastrous as it seems Ireland’s coming general election provides hope that months of political uncertainty may be about to end. But whatever the outcome, the economy and public finances will remain in a precarious state. 24th January 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash PMIs (Jan.) January’s PMI surveys suggest that the euro-zone has made a pretty solid start to the year. But the upbeat data for the euro-zone as a whole continue to mask wide divergences between the region’s core... 24th January 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly EFSF plans won't solve the crisis European policymakers’ hopes of preventing the peripheral debt crisis from escalating further are continuing to focus heavily on the role of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). Not only... 24th January 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly EFSF plans won't solve the crisis European policymakers’ hopes of preventing the peripheral debt crisis from escalating further are continuing to focus heavily on the role of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). Not only... 21st January 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Will Portugal's presidential election add fuel to the fire? Portugal has survived its first market tests of 2011 and resisted pressure to accept outside support. But with government bond yields still at very high levels, the Government’s struggle to go without... 21st January 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Ifo Survey (Jan.) January’s Ifo index echoes the upbeat tone of most of the other short-term indicators on the German economy, including the ZEW survey released earlier this week. 21st January 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economic Outlook Growth to falter as the fiscal crisis deepens The European economy has largely shrugged off the ongoing fiscal crisis in the euro-zone periphery and continued to expand at a healthy pace. But while the improvement in the global environment and... 20th January 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German ZEW (Jan.) January’s healthy rise in the headline German ZEW index suggests that, for now at least, investor sentiment is continuing to be buoyed by the upbeat economic data and the weaker euro. 18th January 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly ECB boxes with shadows In adopting a more hawkish tone last week, when core euro-zone inflation is running at just 1.1%, the ECB has increased doubts over its ability to grasp the seriousness of the situation facing the... 17th January 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone CPI (Final, Dec.) & Trade (Nov.) December’s final euro-zone CPI inflation figures should calm fears that underlying inflation pressures are building. But with headline CPI inflation likely to rise in early 2011, the ECB’s stance... 14th January 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB remains reluctant to do more After leaving interest rates on hold, the ECB provided no indication that it is about to respond to the ongoing euro-zone fiscal crisis by adopting bolder unconventional policy measures. 13th January 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Outlook is bright for Helsinki industrial rental values Finland’s strong external trade links should mean that industrial occupier demand in Helsinki holds up better than many other euro-zone cities over the next couple of years. And given that industrial... 13th January 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Household spending prospects weaken Recent news on the euro-zone household sector has placed a dent in hopes that the external recovery is spreading to the domestic economy. November’s sharp drop in retail sales, and Q3’s downward... 12th January 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Industrial Production (Nov.) November’s healthy rise in euro-zone industrial production adds to evidence that the recovery continued in Q4. But the ever-widening divergences between different countries continue to cast doubts on... 12th January 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Portugal - the end of Act 1? It now seems a matter of when, rather than if, Portugal will follow Greece and Ireland in accepting some form of European/IMF bail-out. But will this signal the beginning of the end of the euro-zone... 11th January 2011 · 1 min read
