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The provisional Q1 euro-zone GDP figures revealed that the economy has narrowly avoided a technical recession – temporarily. But the region remains worryingly reliant on growth in Germany and a renewed contraction seems almost inevitable this year. … …
15th May 2012
Suggestions that higher German inflation will allow the euro-zone’s peripheral economies to regain lost competitiveness look hopelessly optimistic. Those countries still face deep and prolonged wage and price adjustments if they are to improve their …
14th May 2012
March’s euro-zone industrial production data confirm the weak underlying health of the sector and support the view that the outlook for the wider economy remains pretty bleak. … Euro-zone Industrial Production …
Political deadlock in Greece has reignited fears it could be on cusp of a euro-zone exit. The most likely outcome of another election is a victory for the pro-bail-out New Democracy and PASOK parties. But neither are natural bedfellows and with voters’ …
The failure of the Greek election to produce a new government provides some support to our view that Greece could leave the euro-zone as soon as the end of this year. … Greek election deadlock raises euro exit …
8th May 2012
March’s sharp rise in German industrial production reduces the risk that the economy is already in recession. But the underlying picture is still one of a sharp slowdown in the sector which will leave GDP growth muted at best this year. … German …
Despite weaker survey data, the ECB is in no hurry to sanction further measures to boost euro-zone growth. It feels the existing accommodative policy stance is providing the region with the basic tools it needs for sustainable recovery. But national …
7th May 2012
The ECB held its main refinancing rate at 1% today but perhaps more interestingly, appears to have favoured the path of ‘austerity’ in the euro-zone region. Developments on inflation were deemed to be in line with price stability over the medium term, …
3rd May 2012
Banks’ purchases of sovereign debt have helped to lower some euro-zone governments’ borrowing costs. But they cannot solve the broader debt crisis and may even deepen it by further increasing the inter-reliance of governments and their domestic banking …
2nd May 2012
The growing calls for euro-zone policymakers to shift their emphasis from austerity to growth have been fuelled by the continued deterioration in the outlook for the economy. Key forward-looking activity indicators have now fully reversed the modest …
The latest data on the state of the euro-zone labour market and manufacturing sector underline the enormity of the challenge facing policymakers to respond the growing calls for growth across the region. … Euro-zone Unemp. & Final Man. PMI …
Peripheral euro-zone economies continue to struggle to make further inroads into their budget deficits. Although this partly reflects temporary factors, the deteriorating growth outlook suggests that these economies may fail to meet their fiscal goals for …
1st May 2012
A fragile banking sector is one factor threatening to put further upward pressure on Spanish government bond yields. And with the economy back in recession and labour market conditions continuing to deteriorate, the chances that Spain will require an …
François Hollande’s promises of a pro-growth strategy and a stronger leadership role in Europe have raised hopes about France’s economic outlook. But his bold words have so far been backed by few firm plans and we think that a Hollande victory would carry …
Greece’s general election should result in the formation of a new Government that is, on paper at least, committed to the terms of the recently agreed second bail-out deal. But with the economy still in freefall and public debt unsustainably high, the …
30th April 2012
The latest monetary data revealed a further pick-up in broad money supply growth following generous ECB lending. But while banks seem to be using some of the money to buy government bonds, they are still reducing their lending to the private sector. … …
April’s euro-zone CPI inflation data confirmed that inflation remains stubbornly high. Over the coming months, we expect inflation to fall, but only gradually, ensuring that the squeeze on households’ real incomes continues. … Euro-zone Flash CPI (Apr.) …
Last week saw what appeared to be an encouraging outbreak of unity amongst euro-zone policymakers on the need to supplement fiscal austerity with bigger efforts to boost economic growth. But talk is cheap and it is far from clear that effective action to …
At its forthcoming policy meeting, the ECB will resist pressure for it to take bolder action to solve the euro-zone’s problems. Despite acknowledging that the economic outlook has deteriorated, President Mario Draghi seems set to argue that the ECB has …
26th April 2012
April’s EC business and consumer survey confirmed the downbeat picture painted by other recent indicators and dashed any lingering hopes that the euro-zone economy may escape a double-dip recession. … Euro-zone EC Survey …
The backlash against austerity in the euro-zone could improve the region’s growth outlook. But it brings new dangers too, not least by putting dissenting countries on a collision course with Germany. … Austerity backlash brings new …
24th April 2012
The pace of decline within both euro-zone manufacturing and services quickened during the month. The composite euro-zone flash PMI supports our view that the region will experience recessionary conditions during the course of this year. … Euro-zone …
23rd April 2012
The recent resilience of the German economy has prompted us to become a little more upbeat regarding its prospects. But notwithstanding the continuing falls in unemployment, we suggest that talk of a consumer boom is rather far-fetched. … German …
Today’s German Ifo survey came in ahead of market expectations, although it posted only a small improvement compared with March. Predictions that the German economy will be strong enough to pull the wider euro-zone from its current difficulties could …
20th April 2012
With Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande set to emerge as frontrunners after the first round of the French presidential elections this Sunday, attention will turn more closely to what their policies mean for the economy. Differences in their plans are …
19th April 2012
The Swedish Riksbank’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged at 1.0% was no surprise given the recent run of encouraging economic data. But while the chances of an imminent cut have perhaps receded, we still think that the Riksbank will probably …
17th April 2012
Today’s improvement in the ZEW economic sentiment survey is consistent with resilience being shown by the German economy. But it is unclear that this optimism can be maintained given the nature of the euro-zone’s fiscal problems. … German ZEW Survey …
Hopes that the crisis in the euro-zone had been solved by Greece’s debt restructuring and the ECB’s recent liquidity injections have faded. Despite some signs of resilience in Germany, the economic outlook for the peripheral economies and even some other …
16th April 2012
Markets last week seized on hints from the ECB that it may restart its bond purchase programme in an attempt to contain Spanish bond yields. But there are clear doubts over whether the ECB has the conviction or the ammunition to prevent yields from rising …
February’s euro-zone industrial production figures were boosted by temporary factors and do not alter the bleak outlook for the overall economy. … Euro-zone Industrial Production …
12th April 2012
Argentina’s experience after the collapse of the peso ten years ago supports the view that Greece, and perhaps other peripheral economies, would ultimately be better off leaving the euro-zone rather than struggling on with the current mix of austerity, …
10th April 2012
Any lingering hopes that the European Central Bank (ECB) had either already solved the euro-zone crises or would yet come riding to the rescue with much more decisive action were surely put to bed by last week’s post-interest rate announcement press …
9th April 2012
Germany’s February industrial production figures brought further signs that the former engine of the euro-zone economic recovery has gone sharply into reverse. … German Industrial Production …
5th April 2012
The European Central Bank (ECB) hinted today that it might not be prepared to provide much more policy support and hence kept the onus firmly on governments to address the euro-zone crisis. … ECB keeps the onus on …
4th April 2012
Recent news on the euro-zone economy has dampened hopes that that the ECB’s longer-term refinancing operations (LTROs) in December and February had largely solved the euro-zone’s economic and fiscal problems. Activity surveys like the Purchasing Managers’ …
3rd April 2012
February’s rise in euro-zone unemployment confirmed that the resilience of the German labour market is doing little to drag up the average. With high inflation and fiscal tightening adding to the pressure on households’ incomes, consumer spending looks …
2nd April 2012
The reported plans to increase the size of the euro-zone bail-out fund - hopefully to be agreed at today’s (Friday’s) Eurogroup meeting - provide some encouragement that the policymakers have recognised that the Greek rescue package and the ECB’s expanded …
March’s euro-zone CPI inflation data confirmed that stubbornly high inflation is adding to the squeeze on households’ purchasing power from rising unemployment and fiscal tightening. … Euro-zone Flash CPI & German Retail Sales …
30th March 2012
Recent news from Spain suggests that the Government may be falling further behind its fiscal targets, but the other troubled euro-zone governments have made a better start to the year. … Euro-zone Fiscal Monitor …
29th March 2012
March’s EC business and consumer survey echoed other indicators in suggesting that what “recovery” there was in the euro-zone economy has already ground to a halt. … Euro-zone EC Survey …
Following the apparent success of the ECB’s recent LTROs, the Governing Council meeting on April 4th is unlikely to produce any further significant policy measures. While acknowledging the ECB’s duty to support the euro-zone’s banks, President Mario …
28th March 2012
The latest monetary data have confirmed that the ECB’s generous lending is boosting the broad money supply and perhaps even stimulating government bond purchases. But, for now at least, lending to firms and households remains stagnant at best. … Euro-zone …
Three years after entering a depression, Iceland has staged an impressive turnaround, which, on the face of it, bodes well for the peripheral euro-zone economies that have suffered from similar problems. But a key factor behind the revival has been the …
27th March 2012
March’s rise in the German Ifo Business Climate Indicator suggested that the economy remains resilient. But the increase was the smallest for some time and other business surveys paint a less upbeat picture. … German Ifo Survey …
26th March 2012
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 by the release of March’s flash PMI surveys, while the …
The Irish GDP figures for Q4 revealed that the euro-zone’s fastest growing economy in the first half of 2011 fell back into recession in the second half. Ireland still remains in a better position than Greece and Portugal. But 2012 will be another tough …
22nd March 2012
March’s fall in the euro-zone composite PMI supports the view that the region may have fallen back into recession in Q1 and that divergences with the US are widening. … Euro-zone Flash PMIs …
The ECB’s latest liquidity operations appear to have averted, or at least delayed, a looming disaster in the euro-zone banking sector. But it would be wrong to think that they have solved the region’s deeper fiscal and economic problems, or secured the …
20th March 2012
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 that the divergence in labour market performance has …
19th March 2012
