Emerging Europe Economics Update Hungary: IMF fiasco highlights concerns over policy predictability It appears that Hungary’s efforts to re-engage with the IMF have run into trouble sooner than even we had anticipated. While much still remains uncertain, the government’s decision to announce it was... 18th November 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update First thoughts on Hungary's move back to the IMF News that Hungary will commence talks with the IMF on a “new type of cooperation” is clearly a positive step following the turmoil seen in local markets over the past couple of weeks. The forint has... 17th November 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Focus Russia's new oil tax: radical reform or damp squib? The relative stagnation in Russian oil production over the past few years has long been a concern for policymakers. However, it seems unlikely that the new, more favourable, tax regime for Russian oil... 16th November 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Czech industrial market outlook darkens, but further rent falls unlikely The surge in the Czech industrial development pipeline has coincided with a marked softening in the occupier demand outlook. But we do not think that the vacancy rate will return to 2009’s highs... 15th November 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Pillars of decent Q3 growth already crumbling The raft of third quarter GDP data released today contained some positive surprises – notably stronger than expected growth in Hungary and Romania. But given the speed at which the euro-crisis has... 15th November 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Euro-crisis takes centre stage The deepening crisis in the euro-zone has led to a marked deterioration in the outlook for growth across Emerging Europe, but it will bring a range of different responses from policymakers in the... 14th November 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Solid Q3 for Russia, while Hungary teeters on the brink Data released today show that the Russian economy grew by a fraction under 5% y/y in the third quarter of this year, but leading indicators are already pointing to a slowdown in Q4. Meanwhile, the... 14th November 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update The Baltic bounce looks set to fade The apparent resilience of the three Baltic economies continues to surprise. Data released over the past week show that Estonia grew by a solid 7.9% y/y in Q3, while growth edged up to 5.7% y/y in... 11th November 2011 · 1 min read
Non-Euro Europe Commercial Property Outlook Property returns to be dented by the global slowdown Most non-euro-zone European economies will avoid a recession in 2012, but not a marked slowdown in GDP growth. Even so, the weaker outlook for occupier demand suggests that rental value growth in most... 10th November 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Banking sector risks revisited Fears are mounting over the exposure of Emerging Europe’s banks to the deepening crisis in the euro-zone. Our view remains unchanged from that which we put forward earlier this year: the big risk to... 10th November 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update What can Czech policymakers do to stimulate growth? With the Czech economy already slowing on the back of weaker growth in its key export markets, the case for policy stimulus is mounting. In the first instance, we expect a 25bp interest rate cut... 9th November 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update IMF impasse pushes Ukraine closer to the edge News that an IMF mission left Kiev late on Friday without approving the resumption of Ukraine’s $15bn programme has pushed the country a step closer to an external funding crisis. 7th November 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Fresh recession in Hungary set to undermine rental values We have recently downgraded our forecasts for the Hungarian economy and now expect GDP to contract by about 0.5% in 2012. This is unlikely to drive a renewed slump in commercial property rental values... 2nd November 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Upside surprise from PMIs, but industry still slowing October’s manufacturing PMI data came in stronger than expected in most of Emerging Europe. Nevertheless, this does not hide the fact that hard data are weakening. On a quarterly basis, it appears... 2nd November 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia: WTO gains depend on wider economic reform After nearly 20 years of negotiations, Russia now appears to be on the cusp of joining the WTO. But while in theory at least WTO membership could bring major economic benefits, in practice these will... 31st October 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Chart Pack Markets rebound, but growth slowing Financial markets in Emerging Europe have rebounded following this summer’s turmoil. Equity markets (Turkey aside) have rallied by around 8% or more this month, while the region’s currencies have... 28th October 2011 · 1 min read