Chief Economist's Note Recession? It’s a question of definition Harry Truman’s quip about a recession being “when your neighbour loses his job; it’s a depression when you lose yours”, captures many of the difficulties in both identifying when these downturns hit... 20th November 2023
Europe Economics Weekly Germany’s constitutional court strikes again The constitutional court ruling that the German government's use of off-budget funds is unlawful is another headache for the ruling coalition in Berlin. However, we doubt that it will result in as... 17th November 2023 · 7 mins read
Europe Commercial Property Chart Pack Europe Commercial Property Chart Pack (Q4 2023) Our Europe Commercial Property Chart Pack has been updated with the latest data and our analysis. The slowdown in rent growth so far this year is likely to persist given the weak economic backdrop... 16th November 2023 · 0 mins read
Europe Commercial Property Update CE now further below consensus November’s IPF Consensus Survey showed that, although euro-zone office rental growth is expected to slow next year, forecasts remained unchanged on average from the May survey. In contrast, given the... 15th November 2023 · 3 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Euro-zone Industrial Production (Sept.) Euro-zone industrial production fell in September and is likely to continue contracting in the final quarter of the year, primarily due to weak demand. 15th November 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Euro-zone GDP (2nd est.) and Employment (Q3 2023) We do not think the slight acceleration in employment growth in Q3 is a sign of things to come. With business surveys deep in contractionary territory and firms’ hiring intentions falling sharply, the... 14th November 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly Revolving doors on the Iberian peninsula The resignation of Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa and news of a coalition government being formed behind incumbent Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez this week could shift the two economies’ relative... 10th November 2023 · 7 mins read
Global Economics Update Credit data point to recessions in DMs Bank lending data from the major advanced economies confirmed that lending was very subdued in September and the latest bank lending surveys show that banks have since tightened their lending criteria... 9th November 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Chart Pack Europe Chart Pack (Nov. 2023) The ECB’s recent decision to leave interest rates on hold, and its associated communications, confirm that its tightening cycle is now almost certainly over. But despite inflation having fallen... 8th November 2023 · 1 min read
Europe Rapid Response Euro-zone Retail Sales (Sep. 2023) Euro-zone retail sales fell in September and, in our view, will remain weak in the coming months as the economy falls into recession. 8th November 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Update Construction activity will continue to decline Activity in the euro-zone’s construction sector is declining and the outlook is poor. The latest surveys suggest that construction output will decline by up to 2% q/q in Q4. 7th November 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Update Will Italian households save the day? Italian households have been the main net purchasers of Italian government bonds recently and we suspect that they will buy a lot more in the coming months. However, the sustainability of Italy’s debt... 7th November 2023 · 4 mins read
Europe Rapid Response German Industrial Production (Sept.) German industrial production fell much more than anticipated in September and the prospects for the winter months look very poor. 7th November 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Update Putting Italy’s debt dynamics into context Italy stands out in the euro-zone for its particularly worrying public debt dynamics. The governments of most euro-zone countries could stabilise their debt ratios while running primary budget... 6th November 2023 · 3 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Euro-zone Final PMIs (October 2023) Final PMIs released today confirmed the preliminary estimates and are consistent with our forecast that euro-zone GDP will contract again in Q4. They also suggest that price pressures are continuing... 6th November 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly ECB rate cuts still a long way off, fiscal rules debate This week’s comments by ECB officials, as well as signs that underlying inflationary pressures in the euro-zone remain strong, support our view that the first ECB rate cut will only come in the second... 3rd November 2023 · 8 mins read
