Emerging Europe Economics Focus The hidden risk of rising Turkish bank debt Although Turkey’s current account deficit has started to narrow, short-term external debt – particularly in the banking sector – has risen sharply over the past couple of years. As such, Turkey... 12th September 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update WTO tariff reductions will have little impact on Russian inflation The recent revision of Russia’s tariff system as part of its WTO accession is unlikely to have a marked impact on inflation, which is still on course to breach the Central Bank’s end-year target of 5... 11th September 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Export boom keeps Turkey out of recession Q2 GDP data showed that while domestic demand is still contracting, a boom in exports has kept the Turkish economy out of recession. Admittedly, it looks like the economy has weakened in Q3, while... 10th September 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Q2 GDP hit by austerity and falling confidence Final Q2 GDP data confirmed that weak domestic demand was the main drag on growth in Central and South Eastern, coming on the back of fiscal austerity and falling confidence. But with external... 7th September 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Still room for Budapest office yields to underperform We see no reason to expect the wide spread that has emerged between prime office yields in Budapest and those in Prague and Warsaw to narrow anytime soon. Instead, Hungary’s relatively weak economic... 6th September 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Orban scuppers IMF deal (again) Today’s statement by Hungarian PM Victor Orban that his government will reject the conditions attached to an IMF programme is unlikely to spell the end of negotiations between the two parties, but it... 6th September 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia’s policy conundrum Policymakers in Russia are likely to find themselves in something of a bind over the coming months – while growth is starting to slow, inflation looks set to accelerate. For now it seems that... 6th September 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Polish rate cut on the cards for next month Today’s post-MPC press conference gave the clearest sign yet that the National Bank of Poland (NBP) is set to start cutting interest rates in order to counter the recent downturn in the economy. We... 5th September 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Has the outlook for Russian property returns worsened? Recent signs of an economic slowdown have been in line with our expectations. Thus we feel little need to revise our relatively positive Russian commercial property forecasts. However, the gloomy... 5th September 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Little respite for manufacturing in Central Europe While manufacturing in Emerging Europe does not seem to have collapsed to the same extent as in Western Europe, August’s PMIs remain at levels consistent with a recession in industry in Poland and the... 3rd September 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Chart Pack Domestic austerity continues to bite A raft of GDP data released this month showed that growth slowed across most of Emerging Europe in the second quarter. Hungary and the Czech Republic were the worst performing economies, as both sank... 30th August 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Slowdown in Poland set to prompt rate cuts Poland remains one of Emerging Europe’s strongest performing economies. But a sharper-than-expected slowdown in Q2 means that it is looking likely that the National Bank will cut interest rates by... 30th August 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkish monetary shift signals bank FX concerns In the past few months, the Turkish central bank has added to its policy toolkit by allowing banks to hold foreign currencies and gold in place of lira as required reserves for their lira liabilities... 29th August 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungary cuts rates but further easing likely to be limited The National Bank of Hungary’s surprise decision to cut interest rates today suggests that further easing could be on the way. But unless and until an IMF/EU deal is agreed, anything more than a... 28th August 2012 · 1 min read
Non-Euro Europe Commercial Property Chart Pack Emerging Europe – at a turning point? Norway and Sweden continue to ride out the euro-zone crisis relatively well. But the picture in Emerging Europe is less bright. The Czech and Hungarian economies both contracted in Q2, while the pace... 24th August 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economic Outlook Region’s star performers set to lose their shine The slowdown in Emerging Europe in recent months is a sign of things to come, and we expect a number of countries to spend the next year in recession. The most obvious concern on the horizon remains... 23rd August 2012 · 1 min read