Europe Economics Update SNB may struggle to prevent further franc gains The Swiss National Bank’s assurance that it will intervene to prevent the franc from appreciating too much further is encouraging. But intervention now might not be as successful as in the recent past... 11th January 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Greek Government unlikely to meet its tougher fiscal plans The Greek Government’s pledge to reduce the budget deficit to 3% of GDP by 2012 appears to be encouraging news for markets. But the scale of the adjustment required suggests that the Government will... 6th January 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Ireland not out of the woods just yet With the Irish economy expanding again and the Government apparently willing to take the tough actions required to get the public finances on an even keel, Ireland looks set to avoid coming under the... 17th December 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Are Austrian banking troubles a sign of things to come? Recent developments in Austria underline how the worst has not yet passed for some of Europe’s banks. While the larger euro-zone countries are less vulnerable, we expect lending to fall in some of the... 16th December 2009 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Swiss National Bank’s exit will be very gradual By announcing an end to its corporate bond purchases, the Swiss National Bank has become the latest to start phasing out its unconventional policy support. But its downbeat forecasts for economic... 10th December 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Swiss National Bank’s exit will be very gradual By announcing an end to its corporate bond purchases, the Swiss National Bank has become the latest to start phasing out its unconventional policy support. But its downbeat forecasts for economic... 10th December 2009 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Finland on track for a pretty healthy recovery Finland has been hit particularly hard by the global economic downturn, faring almost as badly as Ireland. Nonetheless, the foundations are in place for a reasonably strong recovery, suggesting that... 8th December 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Greece heads deeper into the mire The dramatic market reaction to the downgrade of Greece’s credit rating from A- to BBB+ by Fitch today partly reflected concerns that Greek banks may in the future be unable to use Government bonds as... 8th December 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Finland on track for a pretty healthy recovery Finland has been hit particularly hard by the global economic downturn, faring almost as badly as Ireland. Nonetheless, the foundations are in place for a reasonably strong recovery, suggesting that... 8th December 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB starting to phase out unconventional support The ECB confirmed today that it is phasing out its emergency lending to banks, and perhaps a bit more quickly than had been expected. But the Bank is still downbeat about the economic outlook and we... 3rd December 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update German banks’ troubles need not prevent recovery Concerns about German banks have increased, with the Bundesbank estimating that further hefty losses are to come and the Government warning of a worsening credit crunch. But, for the time being at... 1st December 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Monetary Indicators Monitor (Nov.) October’s euro-zone money supply figures provided few signs that the ECB’s unlimited provisions of liquidity are prompting any pick-up in broad money and bank lending. 26th November 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Conditions in place for an Italian consumer recovery On the face of it, the latest news from the Italian household sector has been pretty disappointing and suggests that consumer spending may have fallen fairly sharply in Q3. Nonetheless, we think that... 25th November 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Greece’s fiscal mess spells bad news for growth prospects The recent news on the Greek public finances has been terrible and suggests that the Government faces a huge task to get its fiscal house in order. Eventually, we expect pressure from the European... 20th November 2009 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Scandinavian housing market recovery unlikely to last The recent surge in Swedish and Norwegian property prices has fuelled concerns that both economies’ central banks may be forced to ratchet up interest rates in order to prevent housing market bubbles... 17th November 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Scandinavian housing market recovery unlikely to last The recent surge in Swedish and Norwegian property prices has fuelled concerns that both economies’ central banks may be forced to ratchet up interest rates in order to prevent housing market bubbles... 17th November 2009 · 1 min read
