Europe Economics Weekly ECB’s mixed messages risk falling on deaf ears ECB officials appear to be trying to strike a balance between holding the door open to further policy action and yet stressing the limitations of monetary policy in order to pressure governments into... 8th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Prague high streets offer decent value despite historically low yields Positive consumer sector fundamentals reinforce our belief that prime retail rental values in Prague will rise by 3.7% p.a. in 2016-18. Low alternative asset yields and positive fundamentals mean that... 8th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Consumer recovery set to fade February’s rise in euro-zone retail sales volumes caused the annual growth rate to pick back up to a healthy 2.4% and suggests that total consumer spending growth accelerated in the first quarter... 6th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Industrial Production (Feb.) February’s surprisingly small fall in German industrial production offers hope of a pick-up in GDP growth in the first quarter. But it is too early to conclude that the euro-zone’s main growth engine... 6th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus Can Italy’s recovery continue? After years of recession, the Italian economy returned to growth last year and further policy support could see the recovery pick up slightly in 2016. But there has been little improvement in the... 5th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Fiscal Monitor (Mar.) The latest fiscal data for central governments show that Greece made a notably strong start to 2016 while the performance over the periphery as a whole was mixed . Meanwhile, the first releases of... 5th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Retail Sales (Feb.) & Final PMIs (Mar.) February’s euro-zone retail sales data point to strong consumer spending growth in Q1, but we doubt that this will be sustained. And the downward revision to March’s Composite PMI added to signs that... 5th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Greece/IMF spat underlines fragility of bailout The public spat between Greece and the IMF underlines the fragility of the country’s latest bailout deal and demonstrates that its long-term future inside the currency union is still far from assured... 4th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Unemployment & Producer Prices (Feb.) February’s fall in euro-zone unemployment suggests that the labour market remains in reasonable health, but it is still too weak to generate any real inflationary pressure. 4th April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Central European yield falls to outstrip other European sub-regions With property yields in Western Europe at historic lows, investors are looking to core CE markets for higher income returns. This will lead to heightened competition for assets in these markets and... 1st April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly The euro-zone’s consumer recovery is slowing We have argued for some time that the consumer recovery, which was the main driver of growth in 2015, would slow this year. Last week brought further evidence that this process is underway. Declining... 1st April 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update The ECB can’t afford to ignore the euro Recent weak activity and inflation data in the euro-zone have underlined the fact that the ECB cannot afford to simply sit back and allow the euro exchange rate to strengthen further. 31st March 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Cypriot success story comes with caveats Cyprus’ exit from its bailout and budding economic recovery are good news. But major challenges lie ahead in addressing non-performing loans and generating growth outside the financial services sector... 31st March 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Copenhagen offices set for solid, but unspectacular, rental growth We expect Denmark’s economic recovery to strengthen further, with employment growth in particular solidifying. This will drive a further pick-up in demand for offices and, although much of the new... 31st March 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Will financial stability concerns prevent Norges Bank rate cuts? The Norges Bank has clearly become more concerned about threats to financial stability, but we do not think that this will prevent it from cutting the policy rate to zero by the end of the year. 30th March 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response EC Business & Consumer Survey, German HICP (Mar.) March’s falls in euro-zone business and consumer confidence support other evidence that the region’s slow recovery is losing pace. 30th March 2016 · 1 min read
