Europe Economics Update Riksbank to cut rates with more on the way Since the Riksbank’s last meeting in June, Swedish inflation and activity data have been weaker than policymakers expected. We think this will encourage them to cut the key policy rate from 3.75% to 3... 14th August 2024 · 5 mins read
Europe Economics Update Norges Bank will stick to hawkish tone for now Inflation in Norway has continued to fall more quickly than policymakers expected. But with the krone coming under renewed pressure recently, we think they will maintain a hawkish tone next week. 9th August 2024 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Update Strong franc opens door to FX purchases and rate cuts Recent safe haven flows into the franc may have prompted limited FX interventions by the SNB. But we think that the policy rate will remain its main policy tool, even for dampening the franc’s... 8th August 2024 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update How much damage would Trump tariffs do to Europe? Several organisations have estimated that a universal 10% tariff on US imports, as proposed by Donald Trump, would reduce euro-zone GDP by at least 1%. We think the hit would be much less than 0.5%. 8th August 2024 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update Prospects for German industry remain poor German industrial output rebounded in June and may well expand a bit over the coming year or so. But any recovery will be weak and the sector will remain in structural decline. 7th August 2024 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update Tourism to keep supporting southern outperformance Tourism in the euro-zone is likely to continue growing at a decent pace over the coming quarters due to rising real wages and increased capacity. This will be a particular boon to the southern... 5th August 2024 · 4 mins read
Global Economics Update Latest thoughts on r* and where rates end this cycle In detailed analysis last year, we concluded that equilibrium nominal interest rates would settle at between 3% and 4% in advanced economies in the next ten years. We maintain that opinion and in fact... 30th July 2024 · 5 mins read
Europe Economics Update High household saving rate unlikely to plummet Tight monetary policy and low consumer confidence have pushed the euro-zone’s household saving rate up to unusually high levels. While interest rates are set to keep falling and confidence might... 29th July 2024 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update Italy still spending NGEU money too slowly Italy has become quicker at spending NextGenerationEU (NGEU) funds over the past year but it is still likely to spend only around two-thirds of the total funds allocated to it unless the programme is... 29th July 2024 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update Ageing population to weigh on EZ labour market Net immigration to euro-zone countries will probably be higher than the UN assumes in its latest population forecasts. But we still think the working age population will decline over the coming decade... 25th July 2024 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update Olympics no game changer for French economy Business surveys released this morning add to evidence that the Olympics will lift activity in France slightly in Q3. However, activity is likely to drop back again in Q4 and we still think annual GDP... 24th July 2024 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update Outlook for euro-zone retail sales has improved After a roller-coaster ride over the past couple of years, we think euro-zone retail sales are likely to rise gradually in the coming quarters. Consumption has recovered a long way following the... 19th July 2024 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update September cut likely but ECB in no rush after that Today’s decisions to leave interest rates on hold and give no clear signals about the future path of interest rates were in line with expectations. The overall tone was arguably slightly dovish... 18th July 2024 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update Bank Lending Survey points to recovery in credit The Bank Lending Survey suggests that there was a pick-up in demand for bank loans in the second quarter particularly for residential mortgages and consumer credit. This is consistent with the... 16th July 2024 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Update High migration to support strong GDP growth in Spain We think Spain’s economy will grow strongly over the next few years, substantially outperforming the euro-zone. This is partly due to strong domestic demand which has been supported by the rapid... 12th July 2024 · 4 mins read