Europe Commercial Property Update How big is the threat of zombie malls in Europe? Dire predictions for US shopping centre closures appear relatively well-founded. However, for a variety of reasons – including more defensive lease terms, lower stock per capita and tighter planning... 3rd May 2018 · 6 mins read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash CPI (Apr.) & PPI (Mar.) April’s unexpected fall in inflation partly reflected Easter timing effects, providing some hope that it will prove temporary. But with underlying price pressures subdued, the ECB will continue to... 3rd May 2018 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update How will the end of ECB QE affect bond yields? We think that after the ECB has ended its asset purchases, bond yields will generally rise only slowly. The biggest increases are likely to come in the periphery, with Italy most at risk of a sharp... 2nd May 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone GDP (Q1) & Unemployment (Mar.) Temporary factors explain some of the slowdown in euro-zone GDP growth in Q1. We doubt that the economy will regain all of its lost momentum, but surveys suggest that growth will pick back up. 2nd May 2018 · 1 min read
Global Central Bank Watch Three more Fed hikes this year, ECB and BoJ on hold Despite economic activity slowing in Q1, we expect the Fed to press on with three more rate hikes this year, not least because inflation has been higher than anticipated in recent months. But in the... 30th April 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Monetary Indicators Monitor (Mar.) March’s euro-zone money and lending data add to the evidence that economic growth has peaked. But with households’ and firms’ demand for loans still strong, and ECB policy set to remain accommodative... 30th April 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB confident about inflation despite slower growth The ECB opted to leave its policy and guidance unchanged today, expressing caution about the softer tone of economic data. But it argued that growth was merely moderating from a strong pace and... 26th April 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Worries about Germany are overdone Developments in Germany this week have increased concerns that the euro-zone’s growth engine is really starting to sputter. But we think that some of these concerns are overdone. After all, recent... 20th April 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Is the euro-zone’s upturn screeching to a halt? The most recent official euro-zone data have been weak and the latest business surveys are consistent in their message that the economic expansion has lost momentum. A sanguine view of this is that... 6th April 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Has euro-zone growth peaked? The latest survey indicators all suggest that GDP growth in the euro-zone has peaked. That said, the economic recovery looks set to continue at a healthy pace over the next few years. 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus TARGET2 imbalances highlight euro-zone’s continued problems The large imbalances in the euro-zone’s TARGET2 payments system indicate that all is still not quite right in the region. There are some good reasons to expect the imbalances to narrow again over the... 2nd March 2018 · 1 min read
ECB Watch Weak inflation supports patient, prudent approach With the economy still performing well and the euro off the boil, we expect the ECB to remove the loosening bias from its forward guidance when it meets on 8th March. But the persistent weakness of... 1st March 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Unemployment (Jan.) While the euro-zone unemployment rate held steady in January and the number of unemployed people only edged down, surveys suggest that the labour market recovery should regain momentum. But the... 1st March 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash CPI (Feb.) February’s decline in headline inflation does not change our view that the ECB will drop the easing bias from its forward guidance at its meeting on 8th March. But with core inflation still weak and... 28th February 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response EC Business & Consumer Survey (Feb.) February’s EC Business and Consumer Survey suggests that the euro-zone economy continued to grow strongly in early 2018, but that inflation expectations remain subdued. This supports our view that the... 27th February 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Monetary Indicators Monitor (Jan.) Euro-zone lending growth made a strong start to the year. And with interest rates likely to rise only slowly as the ECB normalises policy, bank lending looks set to continue supporting economic growth... 27th February 2018 · 1 min read
