Europe Commercial Property Update Are Polish retail occupier market conditions as healthy as they seem? Yesterday’s retail sales data from Poland suggest that occupier demand for retail floorspace in Warsaw is still strong relative to most of Europe. But the big picture is that consumer spending growth... 27th March 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Still no sign of a recovery in Budapest office rental values 2011 was a record-breaking year for take-up in the Budapest office market. Yet this failed to drive any form of recovery in office rents. Unfortunately, with employment set to fall and occupier... 26th March 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Polish retail sales data overstate consumer demand Poland is one of the few countries in Europe where consumer spending has made a significant positive contribution to growth in recent years. However, we think that actual retail sales may be growing... 26th March 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Focus Why Hungary will opt for default We suspect that Hungary will ultimately turn to some form of default as a way out of its current debt problems. The alternative is further austerity – and while we expect Hungary to pursue this path... 23rd March 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey’s current account deficit not just about oil The recent spike in oil prices will make it harder for Turkey to rein in its current account deficit. But there is more to Turkey’s current account shortfall than simply the high cost of energy... 21st March 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia continues its strong start to 2012 The usual raft of monthly activity data, released earlier today, confirmed that Russia’s economy remains in a decent shape, helped by the recent rise in the oil price. As things stand, GDP seems on... 20th March 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Which European office markets are most at risk of oversupply? Within Europe, office markets in the euro-zone’s peripheral region appear to be most at risk of oversupply over the next two years. But less obviously, office markets in Amsterdam and Budapest also... 20th March 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update It’s the levels, stupid! The wide dispersion of growth rates across Emerging Europe masks big differences in the fundamental health of the region’s economies. In this Watch we explain why looking at levels of GDP is a much... 20th March 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Ukraine is running out of options The IMF is highly unlikely to approve Ukraine’s request to restructure $3bn of loan repayments due this year, but the fact that the government is even considering such a move demonstrates the extent... 15th March 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Making sense of the latest inflation data February’s inflation data were stronger than expected across Emerging Europe, fuelling concerns that the recent jump in oil prices is feeding into higher headline inflation. But we think this reading... 14th March 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economic Outlook Growth still set to disappoint Tensions in financial markets have eased in recent months, but the outlook for Emerging Europe remains challenging. We expect the region to grow by just 1.3% this year and 3.0% in 2013. This is well... 14th March 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Are deal volumes in Emerging Europe property markets set to fall? Investment market activity across Central & Eastern Europe (CEE) in the final stages of 2011 was not as weak as the initial estimates suggested. Even so, because of the weak economic outlook for most... 13th March 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Slovakian election puts fiscal policy under the spotlight Victory for the left-wing populist Smer party in Slovakia’s parliamentary election this weekend is likely to cause alarm that the commitment to austerity is fraying. While it is undoubtedly necessary... 12th March 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Q4 data show consumption coming off the boil Final GDP data for Central and South Eastern Europe reinforced the view that Q4 was perhaps not as bad as we might have feared – growth accelerated in Poland and Slovakia and even the beleaguered... 9th March 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Polish rates: debate to turn to cuts this year Today the National Bank of Poland (NBP) pushed up its 2012 inflation forecast which, on the face of it, is likely to provide further support to the argument that any move in interest rates this year... 7th March 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Risks to the Hungarian markets still skewed to downside The notion that the Hungarian government can prevent a future sell-off in the forint simply by reviving talk of an IMF deal in times of market stress seems hopelessly misplaced. Our view remains that... 7th March 2012 · 1 min read
