Europe Chart Pack Labour market downturn gathering pace The downturn in the euro-zone labour market is gathering pace. Another very sharp rise in unemployment in February took the total increase so far to over 2 million. With 1.6 million of that pick-up... 1st April 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Spanish consumer slump shows no sign of ending February’s dreadful Spanish retail sales figures have dashed any hopes that the recent sharp falls in inflation and mortgage payments would lead household spending to stabilise at the start of the... 31st March 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Focus Euro-zone capital values to fall by at least a third We have cut our euro-zone commercial property forecasts. We now expect capital values in most markets to fall by between 30% and 40% from their peak, with the bulk of those falls being seen by the end... 31st March 2009 · 1 min read
ECB Watch Any hints of asset purchases? With the euro-zone recession still gathering pace, we see the ECB cutting interest rates by another 50 basis points to 1.0% this month. Indeed, it should not be long before rates reach 0.5%. But the... 26th March 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Monetary Indicators Monitor (Mar.) The latest euro-zone money supply figures further support the view that the ECB’s injections of short-term liquidity into the banking sector will not be sufficient on their own to encourage banks to... 26th March 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Norwegian rates close to their trough The Norges Bank’s decision to cut interest rates by a further 50 basis shows that it remains committed to preventing a major economic downturn. But with the economy set to experience a much milder... 25th March 2009 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Norwegian rates close to their trough The Norges Bank’s decision to cut interest rates by a further 50 basis shows that it remains committedto preventing a major economic downturn. But with the economy set to experience a much... 25th March 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus Will the ECB ever catch up? The Federal Reserve’s decision to embark on an even bolder program of quantitative easing has left the ECB apparently lagging still further behind other central banks in tackling the economic crisis... 19th March 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Italian industrial downturn has much further to run At first sight, the latest industrial production figures from Italy suggest that the sector may be weathering the global economic downturn rather better than some of the other major euro-zone... 18th March 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Swiss National Bank joins the unconventional club The SNB’s decision to cut interest rates to 0.25%, provide more liquidity to the banking sector, intervene in currency markets and purchase bonds from the private sector, pushes it towards the top of... 12th March 2009 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Swiss National Bank joins the unconventional club The SNB’s decision to cut interest rates to 0.25%, provide more liquidity to the banking sector, intervene in currency markets and purchase bonds from the private sector, pushes it towards the top of... 12th March 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB moving towards unconventional policy Following the expected 50bp interest rate cut to 1.5%, the ECB made some broadly encouraging comments about further policy support to come. No plan is in place for quantitative easing, but the Bank... 5th March 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus What happened to German competitiveness? The particularly sharp collapse in German exports appears to reflect a combination of unfavourable transient factors, rather than a fundamental and permanent loss of competitiveness. This won’t... 5th March 2009 · 1 min read
Non-Euro Europe Commercial Property Chart Pack The occupier downturn is only in its early stages (Mar 09) Most non-euro European commercial property markets have already seen a sizeable upward move in yields. However, as yet, there is more limited evidence of a marked downturn in occupier markets. But, as... 3rd March 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Business surveys still paint a gloomy picture The euro-zone business and consumer surveys have recently begun to weaken at a less rapid pace, suggesting that the downturn may be beginning to bottoming out. Nonetheless, it is still too early to... 3rd March 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Money data confirm banks' reluctance to lend The latest euro-zone money data provide further worrying signs that the credit crunch is tightening its grip on the wider economy. Looking ahead, falling bank capital looks set to prompt a sustained... 26th February 2009 · 1 min read
