UK Data Response Labour Market Data (Feb./Mar 14.) The latest labour market figures showing that average earnings are finally rising at a faster rate than prices mark another major milestone in the economy’s recovery. 16th April 2014 · 1 min read
Global Economic Outlook West to outperform East The world economy should expand steadily in the coming two years, helped by an increasingly strong recovery in the US. However, while the euro-zone has stabilised, it is not growing fast enough to... 14th April 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economic Outlook Deflation dangers persist The recovery in the European economy appears to have picked up a bit of speed in the early months of 2014. The euro-zone now looks set to expand by 1% or more this year, a significant improvement on... 10th April 2014 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Latest labour market data refute Yellen's slack claims The latest round of jobs data released over the past few days would appear to refute Fed Chair Janet Yellen's recent claims that there is still considerable slack in the labour market. 8th April 2014 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Labour Force Survey (Mar.) Employment increased by a robust 42,900 in March, driving the unemployment rate down to a four-month low of 6.9%, from 7.0%. Unfortunately, the bulk of the net jobs created last month were apparently... 4th April 2014 · 1 min read
US Data Response Employment Report (Mar.) The solid 192,000 increase in non-farm payrolls in March, along with the bounce back in average weekly hours worked to a four-month high of 34.5, from 34.3, confirms that the recent spate of weakness... 4th April 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update What do jobs data imply for the peripheral occupier markets? Since the crisis, employment in the periphery has underperformed the euro-zone average. But recent data does at least show some positives for Portugal. And while sustained employment growth in Spain... 4th April 2014 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Falling inflation enhances recovery prospects The last month has brought more good news on inflation. CPI inflation eased from 1.9% to 1.7% in February, the lowest rate since October 2009. Meanwhile, past falls in commodity and import prices... 3rd April 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Euro-zone recovery gradually building momentum The key euro-zone surveys of activity and sentiment continued to pick up in Q1, particularly in the periphery, suggesting that GDP growth in the region as a whole may have been a bit stronger than in... 2nd April 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Unemployment (Feb.) & Final Manu. PMI (Mar.) February’s euro-zone labour market figures underlined the fact that the economic recovery is still far too weak to make a significant dent in the high level of unemployment across the currency union. 1st April 2014 · 1 min read
China Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Mar.) Taken at face value, today's PMIs appear to offer conflicting messages. In practice however, their divergence provides useful clues into the state of the manufacturing sector, suggesting that large... 1st April 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Labour Cash Earnings (Feb.) Japan's consumers continue to face severe headwinds as strong employment gains remain insufficient to compensate for falling real wages. 1st April 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Tankan (Q1) The improvement in business conditions last quarter fell short of expectations, and the Bank of Japan's Tankan survey suggests that growth will slow sharply in the second quarter of this year. 1st April 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Retail Sales, Unemployment & Consumer Prices (Feb.) Consumer spending was sluggish in February, but the real surge ahead of next month's consumption tax hike will only show up in the March figures. Meanwhile, there are further signs that underlying... 28th March 2014 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Will the long-term unemployed ever get back to work? If there is little prospect of getting the long-term unemployed, who account for an unusually large share of the overall jobless rate, back into work then wage growth could accelerate faster than the... 27th March 2014 · 1 min read
US Employment Report Preview Weather effects starting to reverse The weather didn't quite return to seasonal norms in March, but it was nowhere near as bad as it was between December and February. We have pencilled in a gain of 200,000 in payroll employment in... 27th March 2014 · 1 min read
