Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash PMIs (Jul.) July’s renewed fall in the euro-zone composite PMI offers some early support to our view that the fragile recovery will slow in the second half of the year. 24th July 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update China, Japan & Euro-zone Flash PMIs (Jul.) Today’s weak PMI reading from China will reinforce the negative sentiment towards commodities, notably industrial commodities, but demand should still pick up on further policy easing. Meanwhile... 24th July 2015 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update What are global auto sales telling us about PGM demand? Despite slowing auto sales in China, we believe autocatalyst demand for platinum and palladium will increase by at least 3% in 2015, helping to underpin our positive view on the prices of both metals... 23rd July 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Will the Greek economy ever return to normal? Even if the planned new Greek bailout is quickly and smoothly implemented, the economy looks set to remain in a deep and prolonged recession. 21st July 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Greek deal clears some hurdles, plenty left The plan for a third Greek bailout has cleared a number of hurdles over the last week, including provisional approval by the Greek and German parliaments. But there are plenty of obstacles yet to be... 17th July 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Draghi dovish, but cautious on Greece ECB President Mario Draghi maintained a distinctly dovish tone at today’s Governing Council meeting, reiterating the Council’s willingness to step up its QE programme if the economic outlook or... 16th July 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Trade (May) May’s euro-zone goods trade data suggested that the depreciation of the euro over thepast year is still only providing a modest boost to export growth. 16th July 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Greek “deal” still has major hurdles to clear While yesterday’s announcement of an agreement to provide Greece with a third bailout was greeted with understandable relief, there are still very big hurdles to be cleared before the deal is... 14th July 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Industrial Production (May) & German ZEW (Jul.) May’s weak industrial production data and the fall in German ZEW investor sentiment in July suggested that the euro-zone’s fragile recovery may be slowing. 14th July 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Greek deal will only delay the inevitable Today’s tentative deal for a new Greek bailout clearly reduces the risk of a near-term exit from the single currency. But significant hurdles must be overcome before the deal is finalised. And the... 13th July 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly New Greek bailout would just delay the inevitable There appears to be a chance that Greece and its creditors will come to a last minute agreement on a new bailout which avoids an imminent Greek departure from the currency union. But there are many... 10th July 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Would OMTs contain post-Grexit contagion? If a Greek exit from the euro-zone resulted in substantial market turmoil, the ECB would probably respond by unleashing its fabled OMTs. This is a potentially powerful tool to limit contagion. But... 10th July 2015 · 1 min read
ECB Watch ECB may have to play both villain and hero The ECB’s Governing Council may have to playboth villain and hero over the coming week, effectively forcing Greece out of the euro-zone bypulling the plug on Greek banks’ life support and then... 9th July 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Time to let Greece go? While Greece and its creditors look set to make one last attempt to reach an agreement, it might very soon be time to accept the inevitable and refocus efforts on how best to manage the country’s exit... 7th July 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Nai or Oxi? Sunday’s Greek referendum result looks likely to be very close. But regardless of whether the outcome is Nai or Oxi, unless any resulting deal includes a substantial form of debt relief, the crisis... 3rd July 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Retail Sales (May) & Final PMIs (Jun.) Although euro-zone retail sales only rose slightly in May, the outlook for consumer spending is bright. And the rise in June’s composite PMI suggested that the wider recovery was sustained in Q2... 3rd July 2015 · 1 min read
