Europe Economics Update What does the "Euro Pact" mean for Portugal? Contrary to prior expectations, Portugal was not pushed into accepting a bail-out at this weekend’s euro-zone summit. Instead, the “Euro Pact” and Portugal’s announcement of new fiscal measures eased... 15th March 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German ZEW (Mar.) & Euro-zone Employment (Q4) March’s small fall in the headline German ZEW index suggests that investor sentiment might be starting to ease in response to the ECB’s increasingly hawkish stance and global concerns. But this does... 15th March 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Will the "Grand Bargain" prove to be a turning point? Measures announced by European leaders late last Friday to try to resolve the region’s fiscal problems have provided the markets with a boost. But the measures are not as far-reaching as had been... 14th March 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Industrial Production (Jan.) January’s euro-zone industrial production data suggest that the sector has made a reasonably solid start to the year. Nonetheless, they add to evidence that the wider economy has grown at a slower... 14th March 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Political hurdles threaten grand plan Expectations for the EU summit to discuss the latest policy proposals to tackle the euro-zone debt crisis have fallen so far that the scope for disappointment in the near term may be limited... 14th March 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Italian & Portuguese GDP (Breakdown, Q4) The Italian and Portuguese Q4 GDP expenditure breakdowns add to evidence that the divergence in economic growth between the northern and southern euro-zone economies is unlikely to narrow... 11th March 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Is the convergence of Zurich and Geneva office rents justified? The combination of stronger occupier demand from multinational and financial services firms, lower completion volumes and a low starting vacancy rate has helped close the gap between the level of... 10th March 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Is Greece still facing a funding crisis? Recent financial market developments suggest that Greece is as far away as ever from convincing investors that it can get its public finances on a stable footing without defaulting. What’s more, there... 9th March 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Industrial Production (Jan.) January’s sharp rise in German industrial production adds to evidence that the recovery in the sector and the wider economy still has plenty of momentum and that Germany will remain the euro-zone’s... 9th March 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Iceland's troubles are far from over Q4’s renewed contraction in Icelandic GDP is a reminder that the economy will struggle to sustain a decent recovery. While the end of the Icesave saga provides some signs of hope, we doubt it will... 8th March 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly ECB raises the stakes This week’s EU summit to discuss the so-called “Grand Bargain” of policy proposals to tackle the euro-zone debt crisis already had a lot riding on it. But last week’s strong indication from the ECB... 7th March 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB signals April rate hike The ECB gave a crystal clear signal today that it has already made the decision to raise interest rates in the near future. We have pencilled in quarter-point hikes in rates in both April and July. 3rd March 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone GDP Breakdown (Q4) & Final Comp. PMI (Feb.) The second estimate of euro-zone Q4 GDP provides some welcome signs that the economic recovery in the region is becoming a little more broad-based. But there are still good reasons to think that the... 3rd March 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Will the underperformance of French retail rental values last? Relatively low levels of sentiment among French consumers and retailers alike seems to have prevented the French retail market from undergoing as strong a rental recovery as in some other markets... 3rd March 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Recovery regaining momentum February’s sharp rises in the surveys of euro-zone business sentiment are an encouraging sign that the region’s fiscal squeeze is not yet having a severe impact on business confidence. This, coupled... 2nd March 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Bond purchase stand-off bodes ill for grand policy plan The apparent impasse between the ECB and Germany over the purchase of peripheral government bonds not only makes it very likely that Portugal will have to accept a bail-out but also questions the... 2nd March 2011 · 1 min read
