Europe Economics Update French presidential race still looks very close A solid result for incumbent Emmanuel Macron in yesterday’s first round of the French presidential election has helped to allay fears of a Le Pen presidency. But the latest polls still point to a very... 11th April 2022 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Update How would Germany be hit by a gas embargo? A full embargo on Russian energy would force Germany to ration gas supplies to its most gas-intensive companies. This would have unpredictable knock-on effects which would cause a recession. While the... 8th April 2022 · 5 mins read
Global Markets Update Revisiting “Le Pen risk” & implications for financial markets While the prospect of a euro-zone break-up looks more remote than during the 2017 French presidential campaign, the possibility of Marine Le Pen taking power is still a major risk to euro-zone... 7th April 2022 · 5 mins read
Europe Economics Update High inflation isn’t all down to pandemic and energy Pandemic-related effects and higher energy prices have played a significant part in pushing up inflation in the euro-zone, but domestically-generated “underlying” price pressures have increased too... 6th April 2022 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update Le Pen’s chances of victory are increasing The chances of right-wing nationalist Marine Le Pen winning the French presidency later this month appear to have risen sharply over the past couple of weeks. A victory for Le Pen would almost... 5th April 2022 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone exports will slow to a crawl Weakening GDP growth in the euro-zone’s trading partners – and a slump in Russia’s economy – mean that the currency union’s exports look set to grow very slowly this year. 31st March 2022 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Update ECB won’t wait much longer to start rate hikes With the Ukraine war and pandemic-related prices pressures still much stronger than anticipated, we think the ECB will not want to wait much longer before beginning to raise interest rates. Our new... 30th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update Revising down our forecasts for consumption growth With euro-zone inflation set to average around 6% this year, we expect aggregate real household incomes to fall by about 1.5%. The impact on consumption will be cushioned to some extent by fiscal... 28th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Norges Bank dials up hawkishness as SNB bides time Ida Wolden Bache kicked off her time in charge at the Norges Bank with a rate hike and prepared the ground for even more aggressive tightening. We now expect 175bps of hikes by end-2023, to 2.50%, and... 24th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update Counting the cost of going cold turkey with Russian oil An EU embargo on Russian oil would push up oil prices and exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis facing consumers. However, while there would be logistical challenges, oil supplies would be easier to... 23rd March 2022 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update War could cause euro-zone manufacturing recession Just as the supply problems facing euro-zone manufacturers showed tentative signs of easing, the war in Ukraine has created new headwinds. It would not be surprising if industrial output fell in the... 22nd March 2022 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update Cyprus unlikely to be source of financial instability While Cyprus’s strong ties to Russia make it is vulnerable to recession, the country’s public finances and banking sector are in better shape than they were before the crisis which took place a decade... 17th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update Ukraine war will push up euro-zone food inflation Food inflation in the euro-zone is on the rise and the war in Ukraine will make matters worse. While policymakers might normally “look through” a period of high food inflation, with the headline rate... 16th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update First signs of Ukraine war’s impact on euro-zone firms The latest surveys show that the war in Ukraine has severely dented euro-zone investors’ and companies’ perceptions of the outlook. This is consistent with our view that the war will cause a... 15th March 2022 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Update Russian economic crisis will hit Cyprus hard Cyprus is by far the most exposed euro-zone economy to the collapse in Russia’s economy and it now looks very likely to fall into recession in the coming quarters. In this Update, we take a look at... 11th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update ECB accelerates taper despite Ukraine war In today’s monetary policy statement, the ECB said the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a watershed moment for Europe, but it concluded that it does not require a big change in monetary policy. Indeed... 10th March 2022 · 3 mins read
