Nordic & Swiss Economics Update SNB will need to act against the franc very soon While the Swiss National Bank (SNB) left policy on hold today, it reaffirmed its “utmost determination” to defend its ceiling for the franc exchange rate. It may introduce a negative interest rate to... 11th December 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Deflation a bigger threat to Sweden than Budget chaos The new Swedish Government lost a key parliamentary vote on its Budget today, throwing politics in the country into turmoil and raising the possibility of fresh elections. But the potential upheaval... 3rd December 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update How will other European central banks react to ECB QE? The likely introduction of “full-blown” quantitative easing by the ECB may well put pressure on other European central banks to follow suit and introduce their own unconventional measures in order to... 1st December 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Gold referendum highlights limits of SNB policy Fears that a referendum over the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB’s) gold holdings might prevent the Bank defending its ceiling for the Swiss franc may be overblown. But the referendum highlights political... 4th November 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Riksbank cuts rates to zero but deflation threat persists Sweden’s central bank today stepped up its fight against deflation, cutting its main policy rate to a record low of 0% and pushing back the date at which it first expects to raise rates. We think that... 28th October 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Sweden’s return to the left won’t banish stagnation fears Sweden’s general election yesterday resulted in defeat for the centre-right coalition Alliance Government after two terms in power but produced no overall majority for the centre-left opposition... 15th September 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Danish central bank will need to do more to weaken krone The ECB’s unexpected announcement last week that it would lower interest rates again forced the Danish central bank to reinstate a negative deposit rate to protect the Danish krone’s peg to the euro... 10th September 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Swedish Riksbank still fighting deflationary threat Sweden’s central bank today left its main policy rate on hold at 0.25% and reiterated that interestrates would not start to rise until late 2015 as it continues its fight to stave off deflation. But... 4th September 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Swedish Riksbank still fighting deflationary threat Sweden’s central bank today left its main policy rate on hold at 0.25% and reiterated that interestrates would not start to rise until late 2015 as it continues its fight to stave off deflation. But... 4th September 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Sedlabanki hints that rate hikes will soon be needed Iceland’s central bank kept its main interest rate unchanged at 6% at its meeting today but hinted strongly that rates will need to rise soon. We continue to think that the Sedlabanki will raise the... 20th August 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Stronger data to delay Norges Bank rate cut Recent Norwegian economic data suggest that a September rate cut is less likely than we had previously thought. But we still think the Norges Bank will cut its key policy rate, currently at 1.5%, by... 19th August 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Sanctions on Russia a further blow to Finnish economy Finland’s close economic ties with neighbouring Russia mean that the EU’s stiffer sanctions on Russia announced yesterday are likely to deal another blow to the Finnish economy. Even if the direct... 30th July 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Norway set for several bouts of monetary loosening The Swedish Riksbank’s interest rate cut last week will put pressure on the Norges Bank to follow suit. We expect the Bank to cut its policy rate by the end of the year. And as spending in the energy... 8th July 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Swedish Riksbank takes steps to tackle deflation Sweden’s central bank today cut its main policy rate by a bigger-than-expected 50bp to 0.25% and pushed back the date at which it first expects to raise rates until the end of 2015 in order to fight... 3rd July 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update SNB on hold for now, but further action will be needed The Swiss National Bank (SNB) today maintained its strongly supportive policy stance, pledging to enforce the ceiling on the Swiss franc with “the utmost determination”. We think that the SNB will... 19th June 2014 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Norges Bank opening its eyes to weakening economy As we expected given signs of a slowdown in the energy sector, the Norges Bank pushed back its first projected rate hike until 2016. Although the krone weakened on the news, the economic slowdown may... 19th June 2014 · 1 min read
