Chief Economist's Note ZIRP is dead. Here’s what follows the ultra-low rates era. Global bond markets have clawed back some of the wrenching losses of recent weeks, but yields remain far above levels seen over much of the post-global financial crisis period. This shift upwards... 16th October 2023
Europe Economics Update Rise in Spanish inflation will not worry the ECB Spanish inflation doubled from 1.6% in June to 3.2% in September and is likely to rise to over 4% by the end of the year. However, ECB policymakers won’t be too concerned as the increase is largely... 13th October 2023 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly Surge in gas prices not yet a major inflation risk Even if it is sustained, the 30% increase in European natural gas prices over the past week would add only around 0.1%-pts to our euro-zone inflation forecast for the coming year and would not require... 13th October 2023 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Focus Faster fall in inflation might not prompt ECB rate cuts In contrast to the past few years, when the risks to the euro-zone inflation outlook have been consistently skewed to the upside, those risks now look more balanced. So in this Focus, we explore the... 12th October 2023 · 17 mins read
Asset Allocation Update Euro-zone equities may continue to underperform the US We think euro-zone equities’ recent run of underperformance relative to those in the US will extend over the next couple of years, as bond yields fall back and enthusiasm around “AI” continues to grow... 12th October 2023 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update Digital euro still a distant prospect There may be more political support for the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the European Union than in some other economies. However, it is still uncertain whether it will ever... 11th October 2023 · 5 mins read
Europe Economics Update How worried should we be about Italy’s public debt? The recent shift towards looser fiscal policy in Italy and increase in sovereign bond yields once again have raised concerns that investors may lose confidence in Italy’s ability to sustain its debt... 9th October 2023 · 3 mins read
Europe Commercial Property Update Bond market sell-off a reminder of real estate fragilities The scale of the rise in bond yields over recent weeks has provoked worries about the impact on real estate. The sell-off presents an upside risk to our yield outlook, but we think falling inflation... 9th October 2023 · 4 mins read
Europe Rapid Response German Industrial Production (August) The further drop in German industrial production in August was better than it looked as it was driven by volatile components. However, it still left manufacturing output very subdued, and we expect... 9th October 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Chart Pack Europe Chart Pack (Oct. 2023) Our Europe Chart Pack has been updated with the latest data and our analysis of recent developments. Recent data suggest that the euro-zone economy contracted in Q3 and we expect it to shrink further... 6th October 2023 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly What the bond market sell-off means for the euro-zone The bond market sell-off, and associated tightening of financial conditions, reinforces our view that the ECB has finished hiking. The market moves have been nowhere near big enough to prompt the ECB... 6th October 2023 · 8 mins read
Global Markets Update Assessing the outlook for euro-zone “peripheral” spreads While we think the risk of a material increase in euro-zone “peripheral” spreads has risen, our central forecast remains that they will end 2024 a bit below their current levels. 5th October 2023 · 4 mins read
Europe Commercial Property Outlook Decline in values to match GFC; offices fare worst With economic activity weakening, we expect rental growth to continue trending downwards over the next year. At the same time, valuations remain stretched despite property yields continuing to rise at... 4th October 2023 · 36 mins read
Europe Economics Update Investment downturn to push euro-zone into recession The resilience of investment in the euro-zone to higher interest rates and slowing economic growth at the start of the year appears to have been driven in part by the gradual clearing of backlogs in... 4th October 2023 · 4 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Euro-zone Retail Sales (Aug.) & Final PMIs (Sep.) The drop in retail sales in August and weakness in the final PMIs for September are consistent with our view that the euro-zone economy will fall into recession in the second half of 2023. 4th October 2023 · 2 mins read
