Emerging Europe Economics Update Oil prices still set to drag on Russian recovery We have nudged up our forecast for Russian growth and the ruble for this year, partly in response to an upward revision to our profile for oil prices. But the bigger picture is that we still expect... 10th March 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Chart Pack Q4 GDP data a mixed bag (Feb 10) Q4 GDP data, released over the past month, have painted rather a mixed picture. The good news is that a number of countries, notably Russia and Poland, appear to have grown on a quarterly basis. But... 25th February 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Focus Is the Russian recovery built to last? A combination of a massive fiscal stimulus and a boost from the inventory cycle should ensure that the Russian economy grows at annual rates in excess of 6% during the first half of this year. But the... 24th February 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russian debt is safer than Turkish debt Spreads on Russian and Turkish foreign currency bonds relative to US Treasuries have moved in lockstep since October 2009. (See Chart 1.) The prospect that commodity prices (and especially oil prices)... 23rd February 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia cuts rates again, but ruble strength could be short-lived This morning’s 25bps cut in Russian interest rates may help to stem some of the upward pressure on the ruble but it is unlikely to do much to spur lending. What’s more, if oil prices fall back this... 19th February 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russian inflation heading for record lows Russian inflation fell to its slowest rate in nearly three years in January. With the recovery set to lose steam over the coming quarters, we expect inflation to fall to record lows later this year. 4th February 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia: Growth spurt to fade over 2010 Preliminary GDP data released today suggest that the Russian economy had a strong finish to 2009 and mean that GDP growth could top 6% y/y in the first half of this year. However, with the price of... 1st February 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Chart Pack Pick-up in inflation to prove temporary (Jan 10) Inflation across much of Emerging Europe has risen in recent months. Nonetheless, there are good reasons to think that these rises will be short-lived. For a start, the pick-ups have been driven... 29th January 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russian sell-off serves as a timely reminder The sell-off in Russian markets over the past week or so has served as a timely reminder that they are the most vulnerable in the region to shifts in global risk appetite. We expect both the ruble and... 27th January 2010 · 1 min read
UK Commercial Property Update Yield differential between Turkey and Russia to be maintained We expect the differential which has opened up between initial yields in Turkey and Russia to be maintained for the next two years at least. A less severe downturn in the occupier market seems to have... 14th January 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Chart Pack 2009: a year to forget or a spur for reform? (Dec 09) Twenty years after the fall of Communism, 2009 should have been a year to celebrate in Eastern Europe. Instead, it looks like a year to forget. The region was hit harder than any other by the turmoil... 23rd December 2009 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economic Outlook Domestic pressures to hold back the recovery (Q4 2009) The good news is that following the turmoil earlier this year, most economies in Emerging Europe have now returned to positive growth and financial markets have bounced. The bad news is that a number... 10th December 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Depressed activity will prevent rapid rebound in Russian office rents The depressed level of economic activity in Russia is likely to keep the level of occupier demand for office space subdued over the next few years compared to levels recorded prior to the recession... 9th December 2009 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Chart Pack Q3 GDP show signs of growth, but a long way to go (Nov 09) Q3 GDP data released earlier this month painted a mixed picture. Although much of the region has now returned to positive quarterly growth, this has been was driven by a variety of temporary factors... 27th November 2009 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Too soon to call the top in Russian equities Stock markets have fallen sharply around the world this week, but Russian equities have performed particularly badly. We think renewed gains are likely in the near term, but Russian stocks are likely... 29th October 2009 · 1 min read