Europe Commercial Property Update Will confident consumers protect Italian retail market rents? The latest survey data from the ISAE show that Italian household confidence rose for the fifth consecutive month in August. On the face of it, this is encouraging news for the Italian retail... 27th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Monetary Indicators Monitor (Aug.) The latest euro-zone money figures provided little sign that the ECB’s recent continued provision of liquidity to banks has prompted them to increase their lending to the wider economy. 27th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update German occupier outlook weak despite growth in the economy The outlook for the German occupier market remains weak, despite the fact that the economy grew in Q2. We think that the labour market, which has held up well to date, could weaken in the second half... 25th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Paris further through the office rental value correction Paris has been among those Western European cities which have seen the sharpest declines in office rental values to date. However, we do not think that Paris has suffered disproportionately. Rather... 21st August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update SNB determined to head off deflation threat The latest comments from the Swiss National Bank (SNB) confirm that it will maintain its strong policy stimulus for the foreseeable future, helping to reduce the significant risk of a sustained period... 19th August 2009 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update SNB determined to head off deflation threat The latest comments from the Swiss National Bank (SNB) confirm that it will maintain its strong policy stimulus for the foreseeable future, helping to reduce the significant risk of a sustained period... 19th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Greece – don’t expect a robust recovery Greece has so far weathered the global economic downturn rather well. In fact, it is the only eurozone economy yet to have entered a technical recession. But next year, we still expect it to begin to... 18th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Chart Pack Too soon to call an end to rising euro-zone yields (Aug 09) European investment transactions rose marginally in Q2, but remain very low. Although upward pressure on yields abated, we are not convinced that property is fairly valued yet. Occupier demand remains... 18th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Car scrappage schemes – a temporary support for occupier demand? Government incentive schemes to boost new car demand have, to date, been very successful. The surge in new car registrations in Europe should support occupier demand for industrial and logistics space... 13th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update German export recovery will be gradual June’s surge in exports brought hope that the key German external sector is on the road to recovery. Unfortunately, there are good reasons to think that the pace of improvement will slow sharply in... 12th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Expectation of more job losses points to falling office rents Recession in the European economy is hitting the labour market hard. Recent survey data from the European Commission show that employment intentions in the service sector may be turning a corner, but... 12th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Car purchase incentives to provide only a limited boost Government incentives to buy new cars probably prompted euro-zone consumer spending to rise at the strongest rate in two years in Q2. But this boost will be partly reversed as the schemes are phased... 11th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB holds its line After leaving interest rates unchanged at 1.0% at it August meeting, President Trichet suggested that the ECB is unlikely to adopt new measures to stimulate the economy in the immediate future. We... 6th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Consumers benefiting from falling prices Recent weeks have seen some signs of an improvement in the consumer sector. Although retail sales fell by 0.4% in Q2, the drop was not as sharp as Q1’s 0.8% fall. Together with a 12% surge in car... 5th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Currency depreciation adds to emerging European rental downturn Headline rental values in emerging European commercial property markets have been under downward pressure from both weak occupier demand amid the global economic downturn, and from currency... 4th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Swiss industry not out of the woods July’s pick-up in the Swiss manufacturing PMI was an encouraging sign for the industrial sector, as is the Swiss National Bank’s continued intervention to prevent a renewed appreciation of the franc... 3rd August 2009 · 1 min read