Europe Economics Focus Is Italy Europe’s ticking time-bomb? Perennially weak growth and a mountain of government debt mean that the Italian public finances are a potential time-bomb waiting to explode. Indeed, we think the size of the Governments debts will... 5th July 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Italian GDP (Q1), Italian & French Industrial Production (Apr.) Q1’s GDP figures confirmed that, for now at least, Italy is expanding at a reasonably healthy pace. But with signs that the euro-zone fiscal crisis is damaging business and consumer confidence, growth... 10th June 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Germany Trade/France & Italy Industrial Production (Mar.) The latest data from the three main economies suggest that the region ended Q1 on a high note. But while the economic recovery may gain momentum in the short term, a prolonged period of fiscal... 10th May 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Can Italy stay beneath the markets’ radar? Despite having the highest level of government debt in the euro-zone, Italy has so far been largely untouched by the growing contagion effects of the Greek fiscal crisis. But there is no room for... 6th May 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Italian GDP (Q4), Italian & French Industrial Production (Jan.) Q4’s Italian GDP figures were pretty dreadful. With domestic demand still very fragil and a fundamental lack of competitiveness hampering the external sector, Italy looks set to stage a slow and... 10th March 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Increased supply will weigh on Italian office rental values Although office rental values in Italy have held up reasonably well over the past eighteen months, a slow recovery in the economy and a rise in development completions suggest that this will not last... 18th February 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Italy’s exit from recession does not spell end to occupier downturn The breakdown of Italy’s Q3 GDP data provided some good news for its retail and industrial property markets. However, the full effects of the drop in output over the past 12-18 months have yet to be... 10th December 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Conditions in place for an Italian consumer recovery On the face of it, the latest news from the Italian household sector has been pretty disappointing and suggests that consumer spending may have fallen fairly sharply in Q3. Nonetheless, we think that... 25th November 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Office v industrial rents: why have Italy and Portugal been different? The relatively large falls in industrial rental values in Italy and Portugal appear to stem from poor links to Europe’s primary logistics corridors. With a strong dependence on their domestic economic... 12th November 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Why have French yields risen more than Italian and Dutch yields? At first glance it seems a little surprising that initial yields in France are now above those in Italy and the Netherlands. Foreign investors’ share of the French investment market has fallen... 8th October 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Will confident consumers protect Italian retail market rents? The latest survey data from the ISAE show that Italian household confidence rose for the fifth consecutive month in August. On the face of it, this is encouraging news for the Italian retail... 27th August 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Italy’s budget plan unlikely to comfort markets In its blueprint for the budget law (DPEF in Italian) – the Italian Government reiterated its commitment to fiscal consolidation. Because of Italy’s huge public debt, this is a formidable challenge... 20th July 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Italian banks – weathering the storm better than most Italian banks have so far coped with the financial crisis better than most of their European peers. While this has not prevented a slowdown in lending, the problems in the supply of credit seem... 2nd July 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus Italy: is something moving under the surface? The old adage goes that if you ask ten economists their views on something you get ten different answers. But there is one topic where nearly all economists agreed some years back: the prognosis for... 7th May 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Italian industrial downturn has much further to run At first sight, the latest industrial production figures from Italy suggest that the sector may be weathering the global economic downturn rather better than some of the other major euro-zone... 18th March 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Italian fiscal plan not all that it’s cracked up to be The Italian Government’s announcement of an economic package to help reinvigorate the economy suggests that Prime Minister Berlusconi may have reverted to his free spending ways. But the package looks... 28th November 2008 · 1 min read
