Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Flatter yield curves not a cause for concern Government bond yield curves in the Nordics and Switzerland have flattened this year, but we doubt that this signals that recessions are imminent in any of these economies. 25th July 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Chart Pack A mixed month for financial markets Swiss and Nordic financial markets have been a mixed bag over the past month. Equities in most countries have risen, supported by continued fairly strong economic growth. But equities in Norway and... 24th July 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Is franc strength still a worry? While Swiss politicians have long railed against the strength of the franc, Finance Minister Ueli Maurer appeared to throw in the towel this week. But we doubt that exporters, which fared very well in... 20th July 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Riksbank hawkish, Norwegian housing recovering The main event this week was the Riksbank meeting , at which the Bank reiterated that it expected to raise interest rates in December. And data released since the meeting support the case for the... 6th July 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Swiss-EU talks at risk, Riksbank to signal Q4 rate rise The Swiss Government this week made no progress towards reaching a deal with Brussels that would see Switzerland retain its unrestricted access to the Single Market. With the anti-immigrant SVP party... 29th June 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly SNB dovish, Norges Bank hawkish, Sweden ETI strong This week’s quarterly policy statement from the Swiss National Bank strengthened our view that tighter monetary policy in Switzerland is a long way off. By contrast, higher interest rates are imminent... 22nd June 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Chart Pack Strong start to the year likely to be sustained In contrast to the euro-zone and UK, the Swiss and Nordic economies grew fairly quickly in Q1. Finland was the top performer, with GDP rising by 1.2% on the quarter. Iceland was hot on its heels... 19th June 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Central Bank of Iceland on hold but rate rises coming The Central Bank of Iceland left policy unchanged today and reiterated that a tight monetary policy stance is still needed, given the strong economy and pressures in the labour market. We think that... 13th June 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Icelandic GDP (Q1) The Icelandic economy had a weak start to the year, as net trade and investment weighed on growth and offset the continued strength of private consumption. But the surveys suggest that the outlook... 8th June 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Inflationary pressures in Iceland set to grow The Central Bank of Iceland is likely to leave policy unchanged next week. But with imported inflation rising and domestic price pressures set to grow, we see the Bank raising interest rates later... 6th June 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Is Italy a worry for Switzerland and the Nordics? Political turmoil in Italy has rocked Swiss and Nordic financial markets over the past few weeks, but the economic fallout is likely to remain limited. That said, if the situation in Italy worsens... 5th June 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Central Bank of Iceland on hold for now While the Central Bank of Iceland left policy unchanged today, its new forecasts show that it expects inflation to remain above target for the next three years. Moreover, we think that the Bank is... 16th May 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Chart Pack Growth slowed in Q1, but Q2 should be better Ahead of Q1 GDP releases over the coming weeks, the official monthly data suggest that growth slowed in Switzerland and the Nordics. Indeed, retail sales in Switzerland increased by 0.6% in Q4 last... 11th May 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Central Bank of Iceland on hold for now The Central Bank of Iceland is likely to leave policy unchanged next week. But with inflation set to rise, we expect it to raise interest rates later this year. 10th May 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Apr.) April’s manufacturing PMIs provide some reassurance that the Swiss and Norwegian economies bounced back after making slow starts to the year. Sweden’s PMI was quite weak, but other survey indicators... 2nd May 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economic Outlook Tighter monetary policy on the horizon While the Nordics and Switzerland seem to have made slow starts to 2018, the outlook for these economies is generally pretty bright. Nevertheless, healthy rates of economic growth will push up... 20th April 2018 · 1 min read