Chief Economist's Note When it comes to questions of fiscal sustainability, words matter as much as actions Bond markets have been on the proverbial rollercoaster over the past month, with long-dated yields shooting up over the second half of October only for both long and short-dated yields to collapse... 13th November 2023
UK Housing Market Update Rental affordability at its worst for over a decade While the official measure of rental growth is running at record highs, pay has risen even faster. So, at face value rental affordability is good by historic standards. But that doesn’t account for... 13th November 2023 · 3 mins read
UK Economics Weekly Impact of higher rates spreading beyond housing Whether or not Q3 marked the start of a recession, the recent resilience of the economy appears to be fading as the drag from higher interest rates grows. The weakness in the housing market has... 10th November 2023 · 8 mins read
UK Economics Rapid Response UK GDP (Sep./Q3 2023) The Q3 GDP data will spark a big debate about whether or not the economy is in recession (the published growth rate was 0.0% q/q, but GDP declined by 0.03% or £173m). But the key point is that the... 10th November 2023 · 4 mins read
Global Economics Update Credit data point to recessions in DMs Bank lending data from the major advanced economies confirmed that lending was very subdued in September and the latest bank lending surveys show that banks have since tightened their lending criteria... 9th November 2023 · 2 mins read
UK Housing Market Update RICS Residential Market Survey (Oct. 23) The past prices balance remained deeply negative in October contradicting the 1% m/m increases in house prices recorded by both Halifax and Nationwide. But a recovery in buyer enquiries suggests the... 8th November 2023 · 2 mins read
UK Economics Chart Pack UK Economics Chart Pack (Nov. 2023) The recent weakening in employment, easing in wage growth and signs that households are saving more and spending less have provided more confidence that higher interest rates are working. But we think... 8th November 2023 · 1 min read
UK Commercial Property Valuation Monitor UK Commercial Property Valuation Monitor (Q4 23) A small rise in property yields in Q3 was not enough to offset a surge in alternative asset yields, particularly the 10-year gilt, and as a result valuations worsened. 8th November 2023 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Further sharp drop in house prices unlikely The rise in house prices in October was a challenge to our long-held view that high borrowing costs will cause them to drop further. The resilience of prices in part reflects longer mortgage terms... 7th November 2023 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Rapid Response Halifax House Prices (Oct. 23) The increase in the Halifax house price index in October confirmed that house prices are rising, suggesting that the high cost of borrowing alone is not sufficient to trigger the leg down we predicted... 7th November 2023 · 3 mins read
UK Commercial Property Rapid Response S&P Global/ CIPS Construction PMI (Oct.) The uptick in the headline CIPS construction PMI from 45.0 in September to 45.6 in October still left it below the 50 “no-change” mark. But despite an improvement in both the commercial activity and... 6th November 2023 · 2 mins read
UK Economics Weekly Doth the Old Lady protest too much on rate cuts? The surge in business insolvencies and slump in M4 money growth suggest that the Bank of England maybe protesting too much when it stressed this week that interest rate cuts are far away. But the Bank... 3rd November 2023 · 8 mins read
Europe Commercial Property Update Investment drop-in: Answers to client questions This week we held a drop-in on the prospects for commercial property investment in the UK and Europe. This Update provides answers to the most interesting questions that emerged from the discussion. 3rd November 2023 · 4 mins read
Capital Daily It’s a long way down from the mountain for Gilt yields The yields of UK government bonds (Gilts) have dropped back in recent days, and we think that they will fall further over the next year or so, even if they settle far above their post-pandemic lows. 2nd November 2023 · 4 mins read
UK Economics Update BoE doubles down on signal that rate cuts are far away The Bank’s decision to leave interest rates at 5.25% for the second time in a row and to double down on the message that rates cuts are far away supports our view that rates will stay at 5.25% until... 2nd November 2023 · 4 mins read
