Europe Economics Weekly The pitfalls in the euro-zone’s road to recovery Although our forecast for euro-zone GDP growth in 2014 of 0.5% is now only a little more downbeat than the consensus estimate, there remain plenty of risks that could yet derail the region's recovery... 6th January 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Further falls likely in Amsterdam's structurally high vacancy rate Amsterdam’s “Action Programme to Tackle Vacant Offices” appears to be bearing fruit. The total office stock has shrunk over the past year and, despite weak occupier demand, the vacancy rate has fallen... 4th December 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Rating changes don't confirm convergence Last week’s rating changes by S&P, which stripped the Netherlands of its triple A status and moved Spain from negative watch to stable, appeared to re-affirm the recent message from the economic data... 2nd December 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Signs of growth convergence provide little comfort Q3's meagre rise in euro-zone GDP clearly was disappointing, but there were some signs that growth within the region is converging. The slowdown was largely down to weaker growth in Germany and France... 18th November 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Dutch firms will not power a decent recovery Dutch investment has expanded strongly in recent quarters. But, while firms are in much better financial health than households, they won’t drive a decent recovery in the wider economy. 14th November 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economic Outlook Growth prospects improve, but crisis unresolved The European economy has shown further signs of recovery, with the euro-zone finally emerging from recession in the second quarter and other parts of the continent also faring better. But growth in... 8th October 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Are Dutch property markets finally responding to the weak economy? The resilience of Dutch commercial property markets to very weak economic fundamentals over the past few years may finally be fading. Previous supports such as the solid labour market and an increased... 26th September 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Dutch labour market downturn to deepen The Dutch labour market – once the envy of the euro-zone – will continue to shed jobs over the coming year. And as firms attempt to recover previous sharp falls in productivity, employment growth is... 20th September 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Still a long way to go for Italian and Dutch GOEF liquidations Changes to the legislation governing German Open-Ended Funds (GOEFs) this year seem to have been well received. The overall value of the sector has stabilised and new fund launches are being planned... 19th September 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Outlook No boom, but better times to come The economic outlook for the euro-zone has brightened since our previous Analyst, prompting us to increase our forecasts for commercial property capital values and total returns. Indeed, our less... 28th August 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus The sinking Dutchman: slump in consumption to deepen By 2014, the Netherlands will have seen an unprecedented fall in household spending. The resulting weakness in the Dutch economy will undermine attempts to address euro-zone imbalances, while... 22nd August 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Dutch households sinking deeper into the doldrums Burdened by the euro-zone’s most indebted households, the Netherlands is stuck in its third recession in five years. With pressure on households likely to intensify, the country’s AAA-rating will come... 4th July 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update What the Dutch current account says about the euro-zone As the euro-zone periphery struggles to pay off its external debt, core countries like the Netherlands are still running record current account surpluses. But the Netherlands seems unlikely to reduce... 17th June 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone GDP (Q1) Q1’s flash euro-zone GDP estimate confirmed that while the euro-zone economy performed rather better in Q1 than Q4, it remained in recession. 15th May 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Focus GOEF crisis enters new phase Looming deadlines for stricken German open-ended funds to complete their liquidation processes – or hand over remaining assets to their respective custodian banks – mean that the supply of property... 22nd April 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update First signs that Amsterdam retail rents will not defy gravity forever The run of dismal consumer sector data from the Netherlands helps to explain why the level of retail yields in Amsterdam is high relative to other major euro-zone retail markets. Indeed, this could be... 19th April 2013 · 1 min read