Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Monetary Indicators Monitor (Dec.) December’s euro-zone monetary data suggested that money and lending growth in the currency union has peaked, adding to the case for the ECB to loosen monetary policy significantly in March. 29th January 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response EC Business & Consumer Survey (Jan.) January’s EC consumer and business survey supported the message from other survey indicators that the euro-zone’s economy slowed at the start of the year. 28th January 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Can we believe the ECB this time? We said after December’s “Draghi disappointment” that we would take future verbal policy steers from the ECB with a healthy pinch of salt. But there are some good reasons to expect the President and... 22nd January 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash PMIs (Jan.) January’s decline in the euro-zone Composite PMI suggests that the economy got off to a slow start this year. With the twin boosts from previous sharp falls in oil prices and the euro set to fade, a... 22nd January 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB stokes expectations again... this time it must meet them The ECB signalled firmly today that further policy loosening is imminent. While we are wary of putting too much faith in its communications after last month’s disappointment, there are good reasons to... 21st January 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Are the euro-zone surveys too optimistic? The disconnect between the surveys and the official data for Q4 became ever clearer last week, with the release of disappointingly weak November industrial production figures. While the surveys were... 15th January 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Trade (Nov.) The euro-zone goods trade surplus rose in November, suggesting that exports might have added to GDP growth in Q4. Nevertheless, we suspect that net trade will make little contribution to growth this... 15th January 2016 · 1 min read
ECB Watch ECB on hold for now, but doves will win in the end After disappointing markets in December, we expect the ECB to indicate at its forthcoming meeting that the door is still open to bolder policy support. The Bank is unlikely to alter policy for now... 14th January 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economic Outlook Growth to disappoint as consumer recovery slows While the euro-zone economy ended last year with some momentum, expectations of a further acceleration in growth in 2016 will be disappointed. The boost to consumer spending from the decline in oil... 13th January 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Industrial Production (Nov.) November’s fall in euro-zone industrial production added to evidence that the economy performed worse in Q4 than the surveys have implied and perhaps even failed to match Q3’s modest 0.3% expansion. 13th January 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone EC Survey (Dec.), Unemp. & Retail Sales (Nov.) December’s EC Business and Consumer Survey added to evidence that euro-zone GDP growth accelerated in Q4, but the consumer recovery seems to be losing pace. 7th January 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Final PMIs (Dec.) & Producer Prices (Nov.) The small rise in the euro-zone’s Composite PMI for December suggested that the region’s recovery may have gained a little pace in the final quarter of 2015. But GDP growth is still too slow to... 6th January 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack A year of zero inflation December’s euro-zone consumer price inflation rate of +0.2% left an average inflation rate for 2015 as a whole of zero – the lowest rate since the single currency was formed. Headline inflation will... 5th January 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash CPI (Dec.) December’s weaker-than-expected euro-zone consumer prices figures supported our view that bolder ECB policy action will ultimately be needed to bring inflation back to target on a sustained basis. 5th January 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Flash CPI & Euro-zone Final Man. PMI (Dec.) December’s German CPI data confirm that the relative strength of the economy is exerting no upward pressure on inflation and support our view that the ECB will need to do more to hit its inflation... 4th January 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update What do the latest office jobs data say about rental prospects in 2016? The latest employment data show that office employment is far outpacing total jobs growth in most euro-zone economies. And, even in economies such as Germany and France, where office jobs growth has... 23rd December 2015 · 1 min read
