Europe Chart Pack Waiting for the contagion Other than a lengthening of supplier delivery times in February, there is little evidence that the shutdown in the Chinese economy has had much impact on the euro-zone economy so far. Indeed, business... 4th March 2020 · 12 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Chart Pack Coronavirus driving financial market moves The initial financial market reaction in Switzerland and the Nordics to the coronavirus followed the familiar pattern during times of uncertainty: the Swiss franc rose and Swiss bond yields tumbled on... 13th February 2020 · 10 mins read
Europe Chart Pack Coronavirus a downside risk to already weak growth The euro-zone economy ended 2019 on a weak note and the outlook for early 2020 remains gloomy. Euro-zone GDP slowed from 0.3% q/q in Q3 to 0.1% q/q in Q4, with contractions in French and Italian GDP... 5th February 2020 · 11 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Chart Pack SNB to be forced to cut interest rates again The decision by the SNB to scrap its currency ceiling five years ago coincided with it slashing interest rates to a record low to reduce the attractiveness of holding Swiss francs. Alas, this... 16th January 2020 · 10 mins read
Europe Chart Pack Euro-zone starts the year on a weak note Hopes that the euro-zone economy will gather pace in the coming months are likely to be dashed. The latest business surveys point to growth stabilising but not recovering in the final quarter of last... 9th January 2020 · 11 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Chart Pack Rally in the Swedish krona is unlikely to last What a difference a few months make; from being the worst performing G10 currency by some margin between the start of the year and late October, the Swedish krona has risen by about 3% against the... 16th December 2019 · 10 mins read
Europe Chart Pack Economic activity still losing momentum Hopes that the euro-zone is turning a corner look premature. The latest activity data have been disappointing, with retail sales falling in October and national data pointing to another decline in... 10th December 2019 · 11 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Chart Pack Swiss deflation is here to stay Inflation in Switzerland fell below zero for the first time in nearly three years in October and business surveys suggest that it will remain in negative territory until at least early 2020. (See... 15th November 2019 · 10 mins read
Europe Chart Pack Outlook remains bleak Although the euro-zone economy grew by more than expected in Q3, helped by solid growth in France and Spain, the overall picture remains fairly gloomy. Euro-zone GDP expanded by only 0.2% q/q, and... 6th November 2019 · 11 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Chart Pack NOK to fall further before reversing course next year While the Swiss and Swedish economies appear to have contracted in Q3, mainland GDP growth in Norway is chugging along nicely. And even though activity is set to slow in 2020, Norway will remain a... 17th October 2019 · 10 mins read
Europe Chart Pack Slowing to a crawl There have been one or two positive signs in the past week or so, such as the increase in German industrial production in August. But the overall picture remains gloomy. Indeed, at face value the... 8th October 2019 · 11 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Chart Pack Ups and downs in Swiss bonds echo Bitcoin frenzy The ebbs and flows in investor risk appetite in recent months have resulted in a rollercoaster ride for the Swiss government bond market. The run-up in the price of Swiss 50-year government bonds... 13th September 2019 · 10 mins read
Europe Chart Pack Services sector holding up well for now In the face of the downturn in manufacturing, the services sector is still holding up well. Indeed, the business activity index of the services PMI survey suggests that output in the sector is growing... 5th September 2019 · 11 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Chart Pack SNB to shift through the gears The pick-up in FX interventions by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) in recent weeks is likely to be the first step towards a rate cut. But predicting when the interventions will be dialled down and the... 15th August 2019 · 10 mins read
Europe Chart Pack Economic weakness to continue to weigh on equities The recent sell-off in global equity markets has hit the euro-zone harder than the US, but we doubt that this will continue. Equities in Germany have performed particularly poorly, which is... 7th August 2019 · 11 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Chart Pack Switzerland calls the EC’s bluff Given the parallels with Brexit, the recent escalation in the spat between the EU and Switzerland has filled many column inches over the past month. (To re-cap, after the Swiss government refused to... 12th July 2019 · 10 mins read