Europe Economics Focus Debt burdens will constrain fiscal policy for years The goal of keeping government debt ratios stable or falling means that many euro-zone countries will need to tighten fiscal policy substantially and some will need to run primary budget surpluses for... 19th December 2023 · 16 mins read
Global Economics Focus The shape of the fractured world economy in 2024 Our expanded Global Fracturing database allows clients to analyse how geopolitical pressures are reshaping global economic and financial activity. Here, we highlight some of the key findings. 16th November 2023 · 10 mins read
Europe Economics Focus Riksbank “bailout” not as bad as it looks The Riksbank’s request for a capital injection from the government is not a good look for an independent central bank. But its QE-related losses will be smaller than those of many other central banks... 3rd November 2023 · 14 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 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
Europe Economics Focus What to expect from the ECB’s operational review When the ECB Governing Council announces the results of its operational review later this year, it is likely to say it will continue to use the deposit rate as its key policy tool. We also expect the... 12th September 2023 · 21 mins read
Europe Economics Focus ECB won’t start cutting rates until H2 2024 Tighter monetary policy has had a big impact on financial conditions in the euro-zone, but we think its effect on activity is still in its early stages. Even if the region falls into a mild recession... 26th July 2023 · 20 mins read
Europe Economics Focus Further falls in euro-zone house prices to come House prices in the euro-zone have fallen sharply and further declines seem quite likely. This will weigh on construction activity and household consumption, both of which are already weak, and... 5th July 2023 · 10 mins read
Europe Economics Focus Steep falls in euro-zone food inflation to come We expect euro-zone food inflation to fall sharply over the coming year due to the large declines in agricultural and energy commodity prices. But history suggests that the level of food prices rarely... 26th June 2023 · 8 mins read
Europe Economics Focus The outlook for euro-zone services inflation We think that lower commodity prices and improved global supply conditions will bring euro-zone services inflation down from 5% in May to about 3.5% by the middle of next year. Further falls seem... 6th June 2023 · 11 mins read
Global Economics Focus Introducing our new financial conditions indices (FCIs) We have revamped our financial conditions indices (FCIs) for DM economies. This document sets out a framework for analysing financial conditions, explains our methodology, presents and interprets our... 18th April 2023 · 20 mins read
Europe Economics Focus ECB’s balance sheet run-off should be smooth Quantitative tightening and the repayment of TLTROs mean that the ECB’s assets are likely to decline by around one quarter by the end of 2024. We expect the repayment of TLTROs to have a negligible... 20th February 2023 · 17 mins read
Europe Economics Focus Rise of fixed-rate loans makes ECB’s job harder The shift away from variable towards fixed-rate mortgages in many European countries over the past 15 years means that it will take longer than in the past for interest rate hikes by the ECB to feed... 23rd January 2023 · 11 mins read
Europe Economics Focus Core inflation will stay above 2% until 2025 Next year will be characterised by falling headline inflation, which should help to prevent interest rate expectations and bond yields from rising much further. But we also expect core inflation to... 17th November 2022 · 13 mins read
Europe Economics Focus Why we expect a euro-zone recession We think the euro-zone will soon fall into recession as high inflation, tighter monetary policy and weak global growth take their toll. While the economy should recover next year, the rebound will be... 11th August 2022 · 12 mins read
Europe Economics Focus How big is the threat of an end to Russian gas exports? An end to Russian gas exports to Europe would prompt us to forecast a deeper recession in the euro-zone this winter than we currently anticipate. The hit would come partly through higher inflation... 9th August 2022 · 21 mins read
