Europe Economics Weekly Modest industrial recovery on track Last week’s further blow-out in Greek bond yields suggests that any slim chances that Greece had of muddling through its crisis on its own have all but evaporated. Some form of rescue - or at least a... 12th April 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Greek and Portuguese rental forecasts downgraded We have cut our forecasts for rental value growth in Greece and Portugal over the next two years by around 6% and 4% respectively. The cuts reflect downgrades to our GDP growth forecasts. Our rental... 1st April 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Is the Greek crisis really over? Recent more positive developments in Greece have led to some suggestions that the Greek crisis is finally over. But Greece still has a number of major challenges. 15th March 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Weakening growth outlook is another headache for Greece For now, at least, Greece has persuaded the European Commission (EC) that it can meet its ambitious fiscal target for 2010. But the Greek crisis is far from over. Indeed, with the economy set to... 12th March 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update How exposed are Emerging Europe’s banks to Greece? In a recent Update we argued that the crisis in Greece has dealt a huge blow to the prospects for a further rapid expansion of the euro-zone (see Emerging Europe Update, ‘Greek tragedy to temper EMU... 4th March 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update New Greek measures may open door to firmer support The news that the Greek Government will tomorrow announce further measures to reduce its budget deficit raises hope that it will receive the firmer support from the rest of the euro-zone it requires... 2nd March 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Greek bail-out now more likely than not The revelation that Greece used complex financial assets to improve the official figures on the public finances earlier this decade highlights the uncertainty surrounding the reliability of these... 24th February 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Is Japan the next Greece? Japan should be able to avoid the sort of crisis that has hit Greece so hard. Government debt may be even larger in Japan, but the country is in a much stronger position in almost every other respect. 22nd February 2010 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Greek tragedy to temper EMU expansion Recent events in Greece have fundamentally weakened the economic arguments in favour of a rapid expansion of the euro-zone to include EU member states in the East. Political appetite for euro-area... 22nd February 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Is Belgium the Greece of the North? Despite growing fairly solidly in the last two quarters, Belgium shares some worrying similarities with Greece and the other troubled Southern euro-zone economies. But its stronger trade position and... 17th February 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Greek economic woes grow as markets’ fears ease The fact that last week’s European Commission “accord” on Greece appears to have placated the markets temporarily is clearly encouraging for Greece. But with the Greek recession intensifying in Q4 and... 15th February 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Greece’s problems are ours too Greece is the word in the financial markets at the moment. But aside from the potential for weak puns like that (“Greek tragedy”, “acropolis now” etc.), what do recent developments there mean for the... 12th February 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update What would a Greek bail-out look like? Speculation that a bail-out of Greece may be imminent has moved the focus on to exactly what form a rescue package may take. The precise details of any bail-out might have important implications for... 9th February 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update EC’s endorsement won’t fully relieve Greek worries The European Commission’s endorsement of the Greek Government’s plan to get its public finances under control is unlikely to relieve market concerns over Greece’s position altogether. 3rd February 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Is Greece close to breaking point? Fears that the further rise in Greek bond yields over the last week has stretched the public finances to breaking point may be a little over-done. Nonetheless, Greece still faces an enormous challenge... 2nd February 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Is Greece really so much worse? The recent blow-out in Greek Government bond spreads seems to over-do the depth of its fiscal problems compared to those of other crisis economies like Ireland. But Greece has clearly lost the markets... 28th January 2010 · 1 min read