Europe Rapid Response Euro-zone Retail Sales (Sep. 2023) Euro-zone retail sales fell in September and, in our view, will remain weak in the coming months as the economy falls into recession. 8th November 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Update Construction activity will continue to decline Activity in the euro-zone’s construction sector is declining and the outlook is poor. The latest surveys suggest that construction output will decline by up to 2% q/q in Q4. 7th November 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Update Will Italian households save the day? Italian households have been the main net purchasers of Italian government bonds recently and we suspect that they will buy a lot more in the coming months. However, the sustainability of Italy’s debt... 7th November 2023 · 4 mins read
Europe Rapid Response German Industrial Production (Sept.) German industrial production fell much more than anticipated in September and the prospects for the winter months look very poor. 7th November 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Update Putting Italy’s debt dynamics into context Italy stands out in the euro-zone for its particularly worrying public debt dynamics. The governments of most euro-zone countries could stabilise their debt ratios while running primary budget... 6th November 2023 · 3 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Euro-zone Final PMIs (October 2023) Final PMIs released today confirmed the preliminary estimates and are consistent with our forecast that euro-zone GDP will contract again in Q4. They also suggest that price pressures are continuing... 6th November 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly ECB rate cuts still a long way off, fiscal rules debate This week’s comments by ECB officials, as well as signs that underlying inflationary pressures in the euro-zone remain strong, support our view that the first ECB rate cut will only come in the second... 3rd November 2023 · 8 mins read
Europe Economics Update Strong wage growth to delay ECB rate cuts Wage growth looks to finally be slowing in the euro-zone amid weaker economic growth and falling inflation, but it remains too high for comfort. As a result, we think the ECB will wait until a more... 3rd November 2023 · 4 mins read
Europe Commercial Property Update Investment drop-in: Answers to client questions This week we held a drop-in on the prospects for commercial property investment in the UK and Europe. This Update provides answers to the most interesting questions that emerged from the discussion. 3rd November 2023 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Focus High bond yields to push up Italy’s debt ratio to 150% The prospect of a long period of high bond yields and some signs of fiscal slippage by Prime Minister Meloni’s government have worsened the outlook for public finances in Italy. We now think the debt... 1st November 2023 · 19 mins read
Europe Economics Update How would the ECB respond to another energy shock? An energy shock caused by an escalation of the war between Hamas and Israel would have obvious similarities with that which followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But we think that ECB policymakers... 31st October 2023 · 3 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Euro-zone GDP (Q3) & HICP (October) The euro-zone economy contracted in Q3 and the continued weakness of the surveys at the start of Q4 suggests that the outlook is poor. Meanwhile, inflation fell sharply again in October but the period... 31st October 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Rapid Response France GDP (Q3) The slowdown in French GDP growth from an upwardly-revised +0.6% q/q in Q2 to only 0.1% in Q3 (see Chart 1) was a little better than the consensus and our own forecast (+0.1% and -0.2% q/q) and means... 31st October 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Commercial Property Update Investment collapse on course to match GFC decline European investment fell sharply again in Q3 but with interest rates at their peak we think the downturn will soon bottom out. However, our upgraded bond yield forecasts indicate only a limited easing... 30th October 2023 · 3 mins read
Europe Rapid Response EC Survey (October) October’s business and consumer survey from the European Commission added to the evidence that the euro-zone economy is contracting. While the labour market still looks tight, labour shortages are... 30th October 2023 · 3 mins read
Europe Commercial Property Update Early Q3 data confirm EZ crash as worst on record The preliminary data for Q3 were sobering, with euro-zone prime yields moving up significantly more than expected. This confirms the 2022-23 real estate contraction as the worst on record and, with... 27th October 2023 · 3 mins read