Europe Economics Weekly How ambitious is the grand coalition’s plan for Germany? The fiscal proposals agreed by Angela Merkel and Martin Schulz as part of their plan to renew Germany’s grand coalition amount to a headline-grabbing 1.5% of annual German GDP and include abolishing... 19th January 2018 · 1 min read
ECB Watch Change in forward guidance less hawkish than assumed While the ECB maintained all elements of its policy support last month, the recent news that it would soon “revisit” its forward guidance saw rate expectations rise and the euro strengthen. At its... 18th January 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Trade (Nov.) The widening of the euro-zone’s goods trade surplus in November suggests that the euro’s strength is doing little to hurt the region’s exports. With the global economy in good health and world trade... 15th January 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Industrial Production (Nov.) November’s jump in euro-zone industrial production suggests that the sector finished last year on a strong footing, adding to the evidence that overall GDP growth picked up in Q4. And the... 11th January 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Economy shrugging off euro’s rise At the start of January, the euro reached a three-year high against the US dollar and a three-and-a-half year high in trade-weighted terms. While the euro’s climb over the past year or so may seem... 9th January 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Unemployment (Nov.) The euro-zone unemployment rate fell for the fourth consecutive month in November, highlighting the continued recovery in the labour market. But this will prompt only a modest pick-up in wage growth. 9th January 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Would Italian politicians really pull Italy out of the euro? Italy’s general election in March looks likely to produce a fragmented government with eurosceptic tendencies. We don’t think that it will pull Italy out of the euro-zone, but it may cause yields to... 8th January 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response EC Business & Consumer Survey (Dec.) December’s EC Business and Consumer Survey suggests that the euro-zone economy gained yet more momentum at the end of 2017, but inflation expectations remain low. This supports the ECB’s gradual... 8th January 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Euro’s strength not yet a major concern The main news for the euro-zone economy at the year’s outset has been the further appreciation of the euro. While this might seem like a major headwind to the economy’s upturn, we remain optimistic... 5th January 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash CPI (Dec.) With euro-zone headline inflation falling in December and core inflation still subdued, the ECB will continue to emphasise that interest rate hikes remain a long way off. 5th January 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Ifo (Dec.) & Euro-zone Labour Costs (Q3) December’s small decline in German Ifo business sentiment from a record high suggests that the outlook for next year is bright despite the uncertain political backdrop and the prospect of ECB QE... 19th December 2017 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Sufficient progress paves way for transition agreement The EU Council’s decision to sign off “sufficient progress” opens the door to agreeing a transition period, which would see the UK remain in the Customs Union and Single Market until 2021, early next... 15th December 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Outlook Period of strong capital value growth nearing an end Against a backdrop of solid economic growth, the outlook for occupier demand and rental growth is encouraging. But with prime property yields close to finding a floor, and tighter monetary policy on... 15th December 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Trade (Oct.) & Irish GDP (Q3) The narrowing of the euro-zone’s goods trade surplus in October revealed that the external sector had a poor start to Q4. But with the global economy in good health and world trade growing at a decent... 15th December 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus Can the euro-zone withstand ECB tapering? We think that the euro-zone economic recovery is strong enough to cope with a gradual removal of policy support by the ECB over the coming years. The weak outlook for inflation will allow the ECB to... 15th December 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Dovish ECB to normalise policy very slowly While ECB President Draghi was upbeat about the economy at today’s press conference, he stated that the desire of some Governing Council members to signal an end to asset purchases is far from a... 14th December 2017 · 1 min read
