Nordic & Swiss Economics Update SNB sticks to its dovish script amid political concerns Despite the ECB calling time on its asset purchase programme last week, the Swiss National Bank today left its monetary policy stance unchanged and cited worries about franc strength, political... 21st June 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Central Bank of Iceland on hold but rate rises coming The Central Bank of Iceland left policy unchanged today and reiterated that a tight monetary policy stance is still needed, given the strong economy and pressures in the labour market. We think that... 13th June 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Is Italy a worry for Switzerland and the Nordics? Political turmoil in Italy has rocked Swiss and Nordic financial markets over the past few weeks, but the economic fallout is likely to remain limited. That said, if the situation in Italy worsens... 5th June 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Italy turmoil boosts Swiss franc and government bonds The recent political turmoil in Italy gave the Swiss franc and Nordic & Swiss government bonds a boost at the end of May as investors sought safe havens. Stronger exchange rates weighed on equities in... 31st May 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Will Swedish wage growth ever pick up? We expect wage growth in Sweden to pick up to around 3% by the end of the year. This should be enough for the Riksbank to start raising interest rates in December. 23rd May 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update The implications of Switzerland’s “Vollgeld” referendum A “yes” vote in Switzerland’s sovereign money referendum next month would completely overturn the current monetary system. It would constrain the Swiss National Bank’s approach to monetary policy... 22nd May 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Central Bank of Iceland on hold for now While the Central Bank of Iceland left policy unchanged today, its new forecasts show that it expects inflation to remain above target for the next three years. Moreover, we think that the Bank is... 16th May 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Riksbank minutes tinged with hawkish comments The minutes to the Riksbank’s April meeting were slightly hawkish and suggest that the Bank is on track to raise interest rates this year. We think that markets have gone too far in pushing the krona... 8th May 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update No rush for higher interest rates in Norway In today’s monetary policy announcement, the Norges Bank reiterated that it expects to raise interest rates this year. But we still suspect that it will ultimately wait until Q1 2019 before beginning... 3rd May 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Will Swiss and Nordic currencies recoup their losses? The Swiss franc and Nordic currencies have come under pressure this year. While we think that the franc and the Norwegian krone have further to fall, we suspect that the Swedish krona will rebound. 2nd May 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Weaker currencies and higher oil prices boost equities Amid escalating international trade tensions, the Nordic and Swiss currencies depreciated across the board in April. Weaker exchange rates helped to give equities a boost, while the main bourses in... 27th April 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Riksbank delays interest rate rises The Riksbank now expects interest rates to remain unchanged until Q4. We think that the Bank will raise rates gradually this year and next, before adopting a faster pace of tightening in 2020. 26th April 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Will the Swiss franc continue to weaken? The safe haven Swiss franc has depreciated steadily over the past couple of months despite geopolitical worries and rising protectionism. We think that the franc will continue to weaken as the ECB... 25th April 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update How did the Nordic & Swiss economies fare in Q1? The activity surveys across the Nordics and in Switzerland generally weakened in Q1. But they were still fairly strong, so on the whole these economies seem to have performed reasonably well in the... 3rd April 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Trump concerns weigh on Nordic and Swiss markets In March, equity prices and bond yields in the Nordics and Switzerland were pushed down by concerns about US trade policy, while exchange rate movements were more mixed. Looking ahead, we expect... 29th March 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update SNB’s large-scale intervention era is drawing to a close The Swiss National Bank is likely to reduce its currency interventions further over the next couple of years as other central banks start to normalise policy and the Swiss economy is better able to... 22nd March 2018 · 1 min read
