Europe Economics Weekly LTRO sparkle starting to fade Last week brought the strongest signs yet that the post-LTRO bout of optimism is starting to wear off. Hopes that the ECB’s operations would drive a pick-up in the euro-zone economy were dealt a blow... 26th March 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Weak labour market underlines divergence with US Labour market data published last week confirmed that, in contrast to their counterparts in the US, euro-zone firms continued to lay off workers at the end of last year. Timelier indicators suggest... 19th March 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Greek deal does not eliminate break-up risks On the face of it, recent developments like the Greek debt restructuring deal and the ECB’s liquidity operations appear to have strongly undermined our view that a limited form of euro-zone break-up... 12th March 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Will stubborn inflation scupper recovery hopes? Recent euro-zone price developments suggest that inflation will remain stubbornly high over the coming months and damage previous hopes that sharp falls in inflation would partly offset the negative... 5th March 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Growth plans are too long term After forcing yet more austerity on Greece in return for the new rescue package agreed last week, some European leaders finally appeared to adopt a more positive focus, by presenting “A Plan for... 27th February 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly France won't stay in the lead for long Q4’s GDP figures revealed that France was one of the few euro-zone economies to expand at the end of last year. But prospects for French exports are marred by fairly weak competitiveness and a... 20th February 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Greece on the brink, yet again The immense difficulties in finalising a second rescue package and debt restructuring for Greece have pushed the country right to the brink once more. Even if the policymakers manage again to step... 13th February 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Compact agreed, but economies diverge While European leaders have now agreed to the fiscal compact proposed last year, its terms have been diluted significantly. Meanwhile, their economies have continued to diverge. Most worryingly, while... 6th February 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Could Germany yet save the euro? Worries about the Greek debt deal were offset last week by greater optimism towards Germany. Not only were there further signs of a pick-up in the economy, but Angela Merkel hinted that she would be... 30th January 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Greek debt deal won’t eliminate break-up risks The Greek government appears to be close to agreeing a deal with bond-holders which should both reduce its debt burden and ensure that it gets its second bail-out in time to finance the redemption of... 23rd January 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Some glimmers of hope Last week’s news on the euro-zone continued the slightly more positive tone of late. Germany and France reiterated their commitment to a new fiscal compact, Spanish and Italian bond auctions were... 16th January 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Spring bond redemptions may prove pivotal A new year may have begun, but it has not provided the euro-zone with a fresh start. The latest economic data confirm that the economy remains in a precarious position and the euro has continued to... 9th January 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Crunch year for the euro-zone With the euro-zone debt crisis ending the year much deeper and broader than it started it, it seems unlikely that the next 12 months will see a repeat of the (just about) “muddling through” process... 22nd December 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Banks unlikely to ride to their governments’ rescue A closer look at the euro-zone policymakers’ new plan to “save the euro” has not altered our view that it will not bring the debt crisis to an end, especially since several key components of the deal... 19th December 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly ECB’s silver bullet turns out to be a blank At their summit last week, euro-zone leaders agreed on the basics of a new “fiscal compact” which should help to reduce the risks that another debt crisis such as that seen over the last two years is... 12th December 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Markets gamble on the ECB The financial markets seem to be gambling that the European Central Bank and Germany are bluffing when they say they are not about to come to the euro’s rescue. But given the obstacles still in the... 5th December 2011 · 1 min read
