Europe Data Response German Ifo Survey (May) & GDP Breakdown (Q1) The breakdown of German GDP for Q1 confirmed that the strong quarterly gain was partly down to temporary factors. And the renewed fall in the Ifo Business Climate Indicator in May suggested that the... 23rd May 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash PMIs (May 14) May’s PMIs suggested that the euro-zone recovery remains lacklustre and highlighted the continued divergence between France and Germany. 22nd May 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly German engine can’t power euro-zone recovery While the German economy expanded by an impressive 0.8% in Q1, this failed to spur growth elsewhere in the euro-zone and the region's GDP rose by just 0.2%. Possible explanations for this are the fact... 19th May 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Central Europe’s recovery strengthened in Q1 The preliminary estimates of first quarter GDP for Central and South Eastern Europe provide further evidence of a gradual recovery in the region. The main factor behind the improvement in growth... 15th May 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German ZEW Survey (May 14) The fifth consecutive decline in ZEW investor sentiment in May suggests that the German economic recovery might not gain much pace from here. 13th May 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German & Spanish Industrial Production (Mar.14) March’s industrial production data for key euro-zone countries suggested that the recovery in the sector failed to pick up any momentum and that even Germany experienced a modest slowdown. 8th May 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly The unhelpful divergence between France and Germany Data released last week suggested that the euro-zone recovery gained more traction at the start of Q2. But there remains a worrying divergence between France and Germany which risks holding back the... 28th April 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Ifo Survey (Apr.) April’s Ifo survey supported the message from other recent surveys that the steady recovery in the German economy has continued into the second quarter. But a further marked acceleration seems... 24th April 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Negative rates are no silver bullet on their own A negative interest rate on banks' excess reserves at the ECB might have some effect on banks' behaviour and at least prove that the ECB is prepared to follow its dovish words with action. But it must... 21st April 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German ZEW Survey (Apr.) & Euro-zone Trade (Feb.) April’s ZEW survey brought further evidence of strength in the German economy. But the fall in expectations raises some concerns over the medium-term outlook. 15th April 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economic Outlook Deflation dangers persist The recovery in the European economy appears to have picked up a bit of speed in the early months of 2014. The euro-zone now looks set to expand by 1% or more this year, a significant improvement on... 10th April 2014 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update Gulf between US & German bond yields looks set to widen The spread between the yields of 10-year US and German government bonds is close to the largest it has been since the start of EMU. But we think the spread will continue to grow. With this in mind, we... 31st March 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Will the recent outperformance of Frankfurt office rents continue? A broad-based economic recovery combined with a modest development pipeline points to rents in the major German office markets making steady gains over the next few years. Yet the recent pick-up in... 28th March 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Ifo Survey (Mar.) March’s German Ifo survey echoed the message from other recent surveys that sentiment towards the economy might be starting to soften a little bit. But the current conditions index still points to... 25th March 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German ZEW Survey (Mar.) & Euro-zone Trade (Jan.) March’s ZEW survey showed that recent concerns over the international environment have had a negative effect on sentiment amongst German investors. But current conditions in the economy remain buoyant... 18th March 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Industrial Production (Jan.) Germany’s January industrial production numbers provide some hope that the economy’s main growth engine is starting to pick up some revs. 7th March 2014 · 1 min read