Europe Economics Weekly Still fiddling while Rome starts to burn Having pledged to agree on a new rescue package for Greece last week, euro-zone policymakers managed only another vague statement pledging their commitment to “safeguard financial stability” in the... 19th July 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update How significant is the slump in Brussels office take-up? It is tempting to dismiss the recent slump in office market take-up in Brussels as noise in an otherwise positive trend. But it could reflect the early stages of a labour market slowdown as firms... 15th July 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Italy’s troubles raise risk of euro-zone break-up The growing recognition that highly indebted economies need more than temporary loans has caused the spotlight to turn on Italy. With EU taxpayers unlikely to stump up enough cash to rescue such a... 14th July 2011 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Are the best days for German Bunds behind us? German Bunds have prospered from the escalating crisis in the euro-zone. Earlier this week, the 10- year yield briefly hit 2.5% – a new low for the year – before edging up again to 2.7% now. Our base... 14th July 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Industrial Production (May) May’s euro-zone industrial production data confirm that the recovery in the sector is far past its peak and suggest that growth in the economy as a whole slowed pretty sharply in the second quarter. 14th July 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update The beginning of the end for the euro? The continued failure of European policymakers to agree on a new package to support Greece and the growing signs that larger economies like Spain and Italy are being dragged further into the crisis... 13th July 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly A reality check for Portugal Last week’s move by credit rating agency Moody’s to cut Portugal’s rating to below investment grade was a stark reminder that default concerns are not confined to Greece. While the move was fiercely... 12th July 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB takes a hard line After hiking interest rates to 1.5% as expected, the ECB took a hard line today on both conventional policy and the prospect of Greek debt restructuring. We think that it will eventually soften on... 8th July 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Industrial Production (May) May’s sharp increase in German industrial production suggested that the euro-zone’s largest economy was still performing very well, but we doubt that this will last. 8th July 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Slowdown broadening The slowdown seems to be broadening to the domestic economy, not only in the periphery but also in the core economies. While activity in the industrial and external sectors has slowed further, surveys... 7th July 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Is rising construction confidence a downside risk to rental values? Rising construction confidence in Europe may be a sign that commercial property developers are gaining in optimism about the outlook for occupier demand and preparing to boost supply pipelines. Yet... 7th July 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Rising interest rates not yet a threat to Swedish property valuations Relative to historic norms and compared to many other markets, property/bond yield spreads in Stockholm seem quite low. However, the above-average outlook for rental value growth suggests that these... 6th July 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Retail Sales (May) & Final Comp. PMI (Jun.) May’s drop in euro-zone retail sales provided further evidence that the intensifying effects of the fiscal squeeze will leave consumers with little chance of taking up the reins as the external and... 6th July 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Swedish Riksbank hikes rates and signals more to come The Swedish Riksbank once again raised interest rates and reiterated that it expects more to come. While we expect further hikes in the short term, we think that the pace of monetary tightening will... 6th July 2011 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Swedish Riksbank hikes rates and signals more to come The Swedish Riksbank once again raised interest rates and reiterated that it expects more to come.While we expect further hikes in the short term, we think that the pace of monetary tightening willbe... 5th July 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Greek plan won’t end the periphery’s problems The risk of an imminent Greek disaster appears to have eased after the Greek parliament passed the crucial medium-term fiscal bill last week. But European policymakers’ inability to deal with the... 5th July 2011 · 1 min read
