Europe Economics Update Italy’s GDP growth forecasts are far too optimistic The economic assumptions underpinning Italy’s budget forecasts look over-optimistic. As a result, while the Government expects the public debt ratio to fall over the next few years, we think that it... 1st October 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Italy’s fiscal outlook worse than headlines suggest We think that Italy’s budget deficit will be even wider over the next few years than the Government’s projections imply. As a result, we expect bond yields to keep on rising. But unless yields surge... 28th September 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update French 2019 Budget will support domestic demand The draft French Budget for 2019 confirmed that the Government intends to tighten underlying fiscal policy a little. But several of the planned measures should serve to stimulate private spending... 25th September 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Ousting of Swedish PM won’t upend plans for rate hikes Today’s ouster of Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven might seem to justify yet another delay to the Riskbank’s policy normalisation plans. But the economy should continue to perform well and might... 25th September 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Norges Bank tightening to end sooner than most expect The Norges Bank has announced its first interest rate hike in seven years, but we suspect that the tightening process will be over much sooner than policymakers or investors envisage. 20th September 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update SNB dovish amid concerns about franc strength The Swiss National Bank stuck firmly to its ultra-accommodative policy stance today and sounded more downbeat about the outlook, revising down its medium-term inflation forecasts in light of the... 20th September 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Wage growth may play stronger role in ECB policy The latest comments from the ECB’s Benoît Coeuré suggest that future guidance about the pace of policy tightening might hinge on developments in wage growth. In our view, this would be a positive... 18th September 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB’s plans unaffected by signs of slowdown The ECB today confirmed its intention to normalise policy gradually, expressing very little concern about signs of an economic slowdown. Given growing risks and economic uncertainty, the first... 13th September 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Sweden’s political upheaval won’t alter fiscal outlook While Sweden looks set for a period of political uncertainty, the broad fiscal consensus among mainstream politicians suggests that, whoever takes power, the near-term economic outlook will not be... 11th September 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update German slowdown can’t be pinned on trade tensions The role of weakening exports in Germany’s recent slowdown makes it tempting to pin the whole thing on trade tensions. But the slowdown began before Trump’s tariff threats and seems more likely to... 11th September 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Riksbank to raise rates in December Despite the more dovish tone of today’s policy announcement, the Riksbank looks likely to raise interest rates in December. We think that the Bank will then tighten more quickly in 2019 and 2020 than... 6th September 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update The implications of Catalan autonomy Greater autonomy for Catalonia would probably have a detrimental impact on Spain’s public finances. But it would reduce calls for secession, and therefore limit the risk of a renewed and potentially... 4th September 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Will the low level of uncertainty in the euro-zone last? Uncertainty about the outlook for the economy and monetary policy in the euro-zone is unusually low. While it is unlikely to return to the levels seen during the financial crisis or euro-zone debt... 4th September 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Iceland’s central bank on hold but rates to rise this year Although the Central Bank of Iceland left policy unchanged today, it expressed concern about rising inflation expectations ahead of wage negotiations later this year. So domestic inflationary... 29th August 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Will Germany’s current account surplus ever shrink? Germany’s current account surplus is likely to narrow over the coming years, but we suspect that it will remain very large. So there is little chance that economic rebalancing in Germany will help to... 28th August 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Where is the Swiss franc headed? Even after its recent rise, we still think that the Swiss franc will weaken against the euro over the coming years as the Swiss National Bank lags the ECB in tightening monetary policy. But sustained... 23rd August 2018 · 1 min read
