Europe Economic Outlook The crisis continues Recent events in Italy, Cyprus and Portugal have put a dent in hopes that the three-year crisis in the euro-zone is finally drawing to a close. Meanwhile, previous tentative signs that the broader... 10th April 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Can Italy shrug off its political deadlock? The recent news from Italy suggests that it could still be some time before a new government is in place. While there is little sign, for now at least, that this has damaged business and consumer... 2nd April 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Fiscal Monitor (Mar.) Italy and Spain missed their 2012 deficit targets by a small margin and timelier data point to further likely slippage in the initial stages of this year. 27th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Where next for Italian property yields? Data for the final quarter of 2012 show that the upward trend in Italian office and retail property yields paused. Yet both the current political impasse and the poor outlook for occupier demand... 20th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German ZEW Survey (Mar.) & Italian Industrial Prod. (Jan.) March’s small rise in the German ZEW index left it at a high level. But as fears for Italy and Cyprus hit sentiment in future, we doubt that Germany’s recovery will be as strong as the survey now... 19th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Italian deadlock set to continue The opening of Parliament on Friday will do little to lift the political uncertainty in Italy. Accordingly, a prolonged period of policy deadlock looks likely to fuel concerns over the outlook for... 14th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Is Italy really on autopilot? We are not fully convinced by the argument espoused by Mario Draghi that Italian fiscal policy is on “automatic pilot” and that the budget deficit will narrow regardless of who eventually takes power... 12th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Italian GDP (Q4), French Ind. Prod. & German Trade (Jan.) On balance, the latest batch of hard economic data from the euro-zone’s three largest economies makes fairly grim reading and casts further doubt on the view that the region as whole has begun to grow... 11th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update What next for Italy? More than a week after the general election, the political situation in Italy remains as uncertain as ever. With potentially months of political and economic deadlock ahead, we continue to expect... 5th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Political uncertainty to push Italy deeper into recession The Italian economy’s dire end to 2012, combined with the growing likelihood of a long period of political deadlock, supports our long-held view that the consensus outlook for Italy is too optimistic... 28th February 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Has the Italian election disabled the ECB’s bazooka? The renewed rise in Italian and other government bond yields following the inconclusive result of the Italian general election has raised questions over the continued effectiveness of the European... 27th February 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Political deadlock could push Italy towards a bail-out The inconclusive outcome of the Italian election looks set to prompt a renewed bout of market pressure which may eventually force Italy to request a support package from the euro-zone. 26th February 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus Italy: After the election Even if the Italian general election results in the formation of a stable pro-reform Government, Italy’s huge underlying economic problems suggest that it may only be a matter of time before concerns... 20th February 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economic Outlook Euro-zone recession to deepen in 2013 While the lull in the euro-zone debt crisis has continued in recent months, the news on the region’s economy has remained distinctly downbeat. Despite some improvement towards the end of last year... 9th January 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Monti’s declaration will not end political uncertainty Mario Monti’s widely expected decision to head a “centrist alliance” probably increases the chances of Italy continuing its reform process, but the political situation remains uncertain. What’s more... 2nd January 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Will office rental values in Rome fall further than Milan? Recent falls in Italian office rental values are likely to be extended next year. But with a 10% drop in public sector jobs in the pipeline, occupier demand and thus rents, are likely to fall further... 20th December 2012 · 1 min read