Europe Data Response German Ifo Survey (Feb.) February’s fall in Ifo business sentiment matches the message from other surveys that German GDP growth is nearing its peak. Nevertheless, the outlook remains bright. 22nd February 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German ZEW Survey (Feb.) February’s small fall in German investor sentiment was unsurprising against a backdrop of falling equity prices and a strong euro. The fact that the majority of investors expect economic conditions to... 20th February 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German GDP (Q4) & CPI (Jan.) Q4’s 0.6% rise in German GDP marked a decent finish to 2017 and growth looks set to accelerate again this year. But with inflation and wage growth still subdued in the euro-zone’s largest and arguably... 14th February 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Is Italy’s economy really booming? With three weeks to go before Italy’s election, the latest surveys suggest that the economy is performing very well. But the official data paint a less rosy picture. On balance, we think that GDP will... 9th February 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Industrial Production (Dec.) December’s fall in German industrial production came as no surprise after a surge in November and it is very unlikely to mark the start of a downward trend. We still see German GDP rising by about 2.7... 7th February 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update German current account to remain under scrutiny Recent accusations that Germany has “cooked the books” to downplay its current account surplus are wide of the mark. But the surplus is clearly very large and seems unlikely to narrow in the next... 5th February 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update German pay demands won’t see inflation surge Recent pay demands by German trade unions may look like a sign that the economy’s strength is causing a surge in inflationary pressure. But the demands are very unlikely to be met in full. We expect a... 30th January 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Flash CPI (Jan.) January’s fall in German inflation partly reflected energy effects, and the rate is likely to rise again in the months ahead. But with core inflation still subdued in Germany and significantly weaker... 30th January 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Ifo Survey (Jan.) January’s rise in German Ifo business sentiment is another sign that the economy is going great guns, but with the euro so strong the ECB seems unlikely to give a firm end date for its asset purchases... 25th January 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German ZEW Survey (Jan.) January’s increase in the ZEW measure of investor sentiment confirms that investors are upbeat about Germany’s economic prospects despite the recent rise in the euro. 23rd January 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly How ambitious is the grand coalition’s plan for Germany? The fiscal proposals agreed by Angela Merkel and Martin Schulz as part of their plan to renew Germany’s grand coalition amount to a headline-grabbing 1.5% of annual German GDP and include abolishing... 19th January 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Conditions ripe for uplift in German industrial rents Industrial take-up in the four main German cities continues to rise. Yet prime rents in Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich have been largely unchanged for 18 months. Even so, with occupier... 12th January 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Industrial Production & Trade (Nov.) November’s surge in German industrial production and the widening of the trade surplus brought welcome reassurance that the economy approached the end of 2017 in very good health. What’s more, the... 9th January 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Euro’s strength not yet a major concern The main news for the euro-zone economy at the year’s outset has been the further appreciation of the euro. While this might seem like a major headwind to the economy’s upturn, we remain optimistic... 5th January 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German & Spanish Unemployment (Nov. & Dec.) The German unemployment rate held at a record low in December, suggesting that wage growth should pick up at least a little in the year ahead. So while the recent pace of employment growth seems... 3rd January 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Ifo (Dec.) & Euro-zone Labour Costs (Q3) December’s small decline in German Ifo business sentiment from a record high suggests that the outlook for next year is bright despite the uncertain political backdrop and the prospect of ECB QE... 19th December 2017 · 1 min read
