Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Monarchical achievements & “killer apps” Real per capita incomes in the UK have risen by 1.9% on average each year since Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1952. But the monarchical bragging rights go to Harald V in Norway, under whom GDP... 1st June 2022 · 5 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Jumbo rate hikes looming into sight The change which we made to our ECB forecast this week has prompted us bring forward some of the rate hikes in our profile for the Scandinavian central banks and even the SNB, all of which we think... 27th May 2022 · 6 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Dumbo does monetary policy in Stockholm The elephant-based metaphor used by Governor Ingves this week to describe how the ECB’s actions affect the Riksbank was particularly well judged given the increasing chance that Swedish and euro-zone... 20th May 2022 · 5 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly NATO retaliation; Riksbank eyeing front-loading? Even if reports that Russia is close to cutting off the supply of natural gas to Finland prove accurate, Finland seems well placed to replace Russian flows with LNG imports from elsewhere. So, while... 13th May 2022 · 4 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Schlegel gets a pay rise; new split at the Riksbank The fact that the successor to Fritz Zurbrügg as Vice-Chair of the SNB’s Governing Board, Martin Schlegel, is an SNB stalwart means the looming changes at the top are unlikely to change the decision... 6th May 2022 · 6 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Uncandid Ingves, Norges Bank to take a breather In comparison to the excitement caused by the Riksbank’s meeting this week, the Norges Bank’s policy announcement next Thursday is likely to be a more prosaic affair. Indeed, while Governor Wolden... 29th April 2022 · 5 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Salmon-omics; Riksbank set to hike We expect the Riksbank to raise the repo rate by 25bps, to +0.25%, next week. But whereas some central banks – notably the US Fed – are gearing up for aggressive tightening cycles, the comparatively... 22nd April 2022 · 4 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Higher inflation and tighter policy in the Nordics Inflation data released this week across the Nordics confirmed that price pressures are building in the region. As a result, the Norges Bank looks set to press ahead with interest rate hikes, perhaps... 14th April 2022 · 4 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Flodén leaves no room for ambiguity Riksbank policymaker Martin Flodén dialled up the hawkishness this week, arguing that monetary policy must respond to higher inflation. And with data due next week likely to show Swedish inflation in... 8th April 2022 · 6 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Hold the press! SNB to join the hiking party this year The fact that we expect the ECB to hike interest rates sooner and faster than we previously anticipated shifts the goalposts for the SNB and, after a prolonged period of policy hibernation, brings... 1st April 2022 · 4 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Anna Breman baffles a bunch of students The finer points of Anna Breman’s views on the outlook for Riksbank policy were probably lost on her audience of a group of secondary students in a speech this week, but the message for avid Riksbank... 25th March 2022 · 5 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Ingves’s epiphany opens door to April Riksbank hike It has been a long time coming, but Riksbank Governor Ingves’s apparent hawkish epiphany finally opens the door to tighter policy in Sweden. While analyst expectations have crowded around September as... 18th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly SNB say relax; Norges Bank to press on with hikes The SNB does not seem to be losing much sleep about the strength of the franc against the euro, despite the currency’s brief foray past parity earlier this week. The truth of the matter is that euro... 11th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Finland exposed; Swiss franc on cusp of euro parity As we argued only last week, the SNB has so far been willing to let the franc rise against the euro. However, policymakers’ tolerance would surely be tested if the franc were to push through the... 4th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Safe-haven franc not a dire concern for the SNB The divergence between gold prices and the Swiss franc/euro cross rate in the hours after the start of the invasion of Ukraine suggests to us that the SNB intervened to limit the sharp rise in the... 25th February 2022 · 5 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Sweden’s CPI surprise; Norway’s glitterati have dinner The pick-up in underlying price pressures in Sweden in January plays into the hands of the Riksbank’s hawks, who are likely to flex their talons, and makes it even more difficult for Cecilia Skingsley... 18th February 2022 · 4 mins read
