Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Swiss National Bank maintains strong policy support After leaving the target for three-month interest rates at just 0.25% today, the SNB struck a slightly less pessimistic tone than it had previously. But while the Bank has revised up its inflation... 17th September 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Car production to remain in the doldrums On the face of it, the surge in euro-zone new car sales over recent months seems like good news for the region’s beleaguered vehicle producers. Nonetheless, we doubt that this will prompt much of a... 16th September 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone recovery will be slow but steady The clear improvement in indicators of domestic activity and an upward revision to our forecast for the US have prompted us to raise our projection for euro-zone GDP growth next year. The recovery is... 9th September 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB signals policy tightening a long way off After leaving interest rates unchanged at 1.0%, the ECB once again underlined its reluctance to follow other central banks in implementing bolder unconventional measures. Nonetheless, any tightening... 3rd September 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Swedish interest rates on hold for some time to come The decision by the Swedish Riksbank to keep interest rates on hold at 0.25% and signal that rates may remain unchanged for around another year supports our view that markets may have got ahead of... 3rd September 2009 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Swedish interest rates on hold for some time to com The decision by the Swedish Riksbank to keep interest rates on hold at 0.25% and signal that rates may remain unchanged for around another year supports our view that markets may have got ahead of... 3rd September 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Monetary Indicators Monitor (Aug.) The latest euro-zone money figures provided little sign that the ECB’s recent continued provision of liquidity to banks has prompted them to increase their lending to the wider economy. 27th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update SNB determined to head off deflation threat The latest comments from the Swiss National Bank (SNB) confirm that it will maintain its strong policy stimulus for the foreseeable future, helping to reduce the significant risk of a sustained period... 19th August 2009 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update SNB determined to head off deflation threat The latest comments from the Swiss National Bank (SNB) confirm that it will maintain its strong policy stimulus for the foreseeable future, helping to reduce the significant risk of a sustained period... 19th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Greece – don’t expect a robust recovery Greece has so far weathered the global economic downturn rather well. In fact, it is the only eurozone economy yet to have entered a technical recession. But next year, we still expect it to begin to... 18th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update German export recovery will be gradual June’s surge in exports brought hope that the key German external sector is on the road to recovery. Unfortunately, there are good reasons to think that the pace of improvement will slow sharply in... 12th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Car purchase incentives to provide only a limited boost Government incentives to buy new cars probably prompted euro-zone consumer spending to rise at the strongest rate in two years in Q2. But this boost will be partly reversed as the schemes are phased... 11th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB holds its line After leaving interest rates unchanged at 1.0% at it August meeting, President Trichet suggested that the ECB is unlikely to adopt new measures to stimulate the economy in the immediate future. We... 6th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Swiss industry not out of the woods July’s pick-up in the Swiss manufacturing PMI was an encouraging sign for the industrial sector, as is the Swiss National Bank’s continued intervention to prevent a renewed appreciation of the franc... 3rd August 2009 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Swiss industry not out of the woods July’s pick-up in the Swiss manufacturing PMI was an encouraging sign for the industrial sector, as is the Swiss National Bank’s continued intervention to prevent a renewed appreciation of the franc... 3rd August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update NAMA unlikely to solve Ireland’s bank problems The Irish Government’s plans to set up a “bad bank” should eventually help to reduce the uncertainty surrounding the size of banks’ losses. But the sheer scale of the problems in the banking sector... 31st July 2009 · 1 min read
