Europe Economics Update ECB still inching towards QE The additional policy measures announced by the European Central Bank (ECB) today are unlikely totransform the euro-zone’s economic outlook on their own and therefore look like another step alongthe... 4th September 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Swedish Riksbank still fighting deflationary threat Sweden’s central bank today left its main policy rate on hold at 0.25% and reiterated that interest rates would not start to rise until late 2015 as it continues its fight to stave off deflation. But... 4th September 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Swedish Riksbank still fighting deflationary threat Sweden’s central bank today left its main policy rate on hold at 0.25% and reiterated that interestrates would not start to rise until late 2015 as it continues its fight to stave off deflation. But... 4th September 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Swedish Riksbank still fighting deflationary threat Sweden’s central bank today left its main policy rate on hold at 0.25% and reiterated that interestrates would not start to rise until late 2015 as it continues its fight to stave off deflation. But... 4th September 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Fiscal Monitor (Aug.) Fiscal positions strengthened across most of the peripheral economies in July, although we havegrowing concerns about Portugal’s ability to meet its target for this year. (Chart 1). 2nd September 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Monetary Indicators Monitor (Jul.) Although July’s euro-zone monetary data showed some further signs of improvement, the bigger picture is that lending is still contracting and the data suggest there is still a significant risk of... 28th August 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update French political turmoil adds to near-term economic risks The latest anti-austerity backlash from within the French Government, together with supportive comments from the ECB, offer hope that the euro-zone’s fiscal straightjacket could be loosened in future... 26th August 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB finally facing facts President Draghi’s comments at Jackson Hole supported our long-held view that the ECB will take theplunge into full-blown quantitative easing, probably around the turn of the year. 26th August 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Norwegian GDP (Q2) Q2’s sharp rise in Norwegian GDP made imminent policy action by the Norges Bank look very unlikely. But we still expect the Bank to cut interest rates next year as the krone strengthens further and... 21st August 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Sedlabanki hints that rate hikes will soon be needed Iceland’s central bank kept its main interest rate unchanged at 6% at its meeting today but hintedstrongly that rates will need to rise soon. We continue to think that the Sedlabanki will raise... 20th August 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Sedlabanki hints that rate hikes will soon be needed Iceland’s central bank kept its main interest rate unchanged at 6% at its meeting today but hinted strongly that rates will need to rise soon. We continue to think that the Sedlabanki will raise the... 20th August 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Stronger data to delay Norges Bank rate cut Recent Norwegian economic data suggest that a September rate cut is less likely than we hadpreviously thought. But we still think the Norges Bank will cut its key policy rate, currently at 1.5%,by the... 19th August 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Stronger data to delay Norges Bank rate cut Recent Norwegian economic data suggest that a September rate cut is less likely than we had previously thought. But we still think the Norges Bank will cut its key policy rate, currently at 1.5%, by... 19th August 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB has too much faith in long-term inflation expectations The key remaining barrier to bolder ECB policy support seems to be the Governing Council’s viewthat long-term inflation expectations are “well-anchored”. We have doubts over the usefulness ofsuch... 18th August 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update How worried should we be about Germany? The decline in German GDP in Q2 is not as alarming as it might appear given that it was causedpartly by temporary factors. But while the economy should return to growth in Q3 and beyond, itseems clear... 14th August 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB inching towards QE The ECB gave no strong hints of imminent policy action this month as it waited to judge the effects ofpreviously announced measures and claimed that long-term inflation expectations were wellanchored... 7th August 2014 · 1 min read
