Europe Economics Update EZ exporters struggling even without higher US tariffs Euro-zone exports have performed poorly for several years and the outlook is poor even if the EU does not get into a trade war with the US. We suspect that US tariffs will be only a small additional... 21st February 2025 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update Germany: what to expect on election night and beyond Germany’s next government looks set to cut taxes and, if the parliamentary maths allow, reform the constitutional fiscal rule. It is also likely to be firmer in its support for Ukraine even as support... 20th February 2025 · 7 mins read
Europe Economics Update Key questions on Europe’s defence spending European governments are poised to further scale up their plans for defence spending in the coming years which should benefit the equity prices of European defence companies, but the boost to GDP is... 17th February 2025 · 5 mins read
Europe Economics Update High demand to spur construction in southern Europe Booming demand for housing has led to huge price rises in southern Europe over the past few years and will support rapid construction growth for some time to come. Moreover, there is little risk of a... 13th February 2025 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update Implications of an earlier Ukraine peace deal for Europe President Trump’s push for an early peace agreement in Ukraine raises the prospect of higher defence spending in Europe and increases the chance of a fall in European natural gas prices. But it does... 13th February 2025 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update Could the EU target US services? Any attempt by the EU to impose tariffs on imports of US services would be controversial and difficult to implement. It is more likely that the EU links regulation and domestic taxation of digital... 12th February 2025 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update Lack of labour casts shadow over Greek recovery Prospects for Greece’s economy are brighter than for the core euro-zone economies over the next year or two, but a shortage of labour will keep growth lower than in fellow “peripheral” economies... 12th February 2025 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update German election: return of the GroKo? The latest opinion polls suggest that a CDU-SPD coalition is the most likely outcome of the German election. Such a coalition would be less likely to pursue labour market reforms and activist... 11th February 2025 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update Estimates of neutral policy rate won’t tie ECB’s hands Comparing the ECB’s deposit rate to estimates of its equilibrium level suggests that monetary policy will soon be only slightly restrictive. But there is a huge amount of uncertainty around these... 7th February 2025 · 4 mins read
Event Drop-In: German election 2025 – The new government’s domestic and global challenges 1740391200 Germans will be voting on Sunday against a backdrop of extraordinary uncertainty for Europe’s biggest economy.
Europe Economics Update Four quick points on Europe and the "trade war" This weekend’s US trade policy announcements and Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on Europe raise the question of whether there is a bigger risk to the euro-zone than we had thought. This Update... 3rd February 2025 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update EC survey points to stagnation and risks to inflation January’s EC survey points to continued weak GDP growth at best. While it also suggests that there are some upside risks to inflation in the near term, firms’ employment expectations and labour... 30th January 2025 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update ECB has much further to go It’s clear that after cutting its deposit rate from 3% to 2.75% today, the ECB expects to reduce rates further in the coming months. We think that weak growth and inflation will mean that the Bank has... 30th January 2025 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update Lower interest rates boosting euro-zone bank lending Euro-zone money and lending growth data paint a rosier picture of the economy’s near-term prospects than the latest business surveys and suggest that the impact of ECB rate cuts is feeding through... 29th January 2025 · 3 mins read
Climate Economics Update Looming supply crunch supports EU carbon prices Although European natural gas prices will still influence EU carbon prices in the near-term, investors’ recent optimism suggests that expectations for a tighter carbon market down the line are... 28th January 2025 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update The end is in sight for the Riksbank We think that next week the Riksbank will cut its policy rate for the final time this cycle, reducing it from 2.5% to 2.25%. After that, we do not see a need for policymakers to loosen policy any... 24th January 2025 · 5 mins read
