Europe Economics Update SNB may struggle to prevent further franc gains The Swiss National Bank’s assurance that it will intervene to prevent the franc from appreciating too much further is encouraging. But intervention now might not be as successful as in the recent past... 11th January 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly New Year challenges for the euro-zone For some time, we have been fairly optimistic about the prospects for the euro-zone in 2010. Nonetheless, the outlook remains highly uncertain and there are several risks which could derail the... 11th January 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Industrial Production & EZ Unemployment (Nov.) November’s renewed increase in German industrial production is a welcome sign that the recovery there is back on track. But with unemployment still rising in the euro-zone as a whole, it could be some... 8th January 2010 · 1 min read
ECB Watch Gently does it After outlining the start of its exit strategy last month, we doubt that the ECB will announce any further changes at the forthcoming meeting. The Bank might increase the interest rate on its... 7th January 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Euro-zone retail rental values will fall everywhere in 2010 The latest fall in euro-zone retail sales confirmed that the wider economic recovery has not yet spread to the consumer sector, despite nine consecutive monthly rises in consumer confidence. And, as... 7th January 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone EC Survey (Dec.) & Retail Sales (Nov.) December’s rise in the EC measure of euro-zone economic sentiment was fairly encouraging. Unfortunately, though, November’s fall in retail sales confirmed that the recovery has yet to reach the... 7th January 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus How much will fiscal tightening hurt Europe? Greeces troubles have highlighted the need for decisive fiscal consolidation in at least parts of the euro-zone. This need not be as aggressive as in the UK or US, but could still knock over 0.5% off... 7th January 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Greek Government unlikely to meet its tougher fiscal plans The Greek Government’s pledge to reduce the budget deficit to 3% of GDP by 2012 appears to be encouraging news for markets. But the scale of the adjustment required suggests that the Government will... 6th January 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Producer Prices (Nov.) & Final PMIs (Dec.) Euro-zone producer price inflation continued to inch up in November. But it remains deep in negative territory, suggesting that pipeline inflationary pressures remain very weak and that core CPI... 6th January 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Labour market to weaken and weigh on German rents We expect commercial property rental values in Germany to fall across all sectors in 2010 and stabilise in 2011. In particular, we doubt that recent signs of an improvement in the German labour market... 5th January 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash CPI & German Unemployment (Dec.) December’s rise in euro-zone inflation reflects temporary energy effects. With economic activity still at very low levels, deflation remains a bigger risk for the region than high inflation in the... 5th January 2010 · 1 min read
Non-Euro Europe Commercial Property Outlook Improving investor sentiment may be slow to spread to Emerging Europe (Vol.1 2010) We are more optimistic about the outlook for property returns in non-euro-zone European markets than in our previous forecasts. 4th January 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Outlook Falling yields to bring an end to capital value declines in 2010 (Vol.1 2010) The euro-zone commercial property outlook improved markedly during the second half of 2009. It now seems probable that almost all markets will experience positive total returns in 2010, with Spain and... 4th January 2010 · 1 min read
The pace of recovery will disappoint (Vol 1 2010) The euro-zone seems to have pulled out of recession. Although Ireland and Spain will remain mired in recession, most of the member states will record positive growth in 2010, with Germany, France and... 21st December 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Ireland’s property market will remain in doldrums for next few years Ireland’s exit from recession in the third quarter provides less grounds for optimism about the outlook for commercial property than it may initially seem. Although rental value falls in Ireland have... 18th December 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Ireland not out of the woods just yet With the Irish economy expanding again and the Government apparently willing to take the tough actions required to get the public finances on an even keel, Ireland looks set to avoid coming under the... 17th December 2009 · 1 min read
